Glow in the Dark Dogs - Medical Research or Animal Testing?

While I have often written about some of the exciting and promising research which scientists working in tandem with veterinarians are using to treat dogs and cats, many of these procedures may positively impact the treatment of humans as well. But after I read this "breaking news" in the field of animal research, I am also compelled to express my dismay and concern about some of the lengths researchers are going to in order to find "cures" for human diseases.

A group of scientists in South Korea have recently announced that they have "engineered" four beagles that "glow red" through the use of cloning techniques. These scientists hope their research will develop cures for humans.

Photo by AP Photo/ Seoul National University, HO Ruppy two days old: the world's first transgenic female beagle dog carrying fluorescent genes The South Korean scientists are presently working with four beagles, all of whom are named "Ruppy", a name which combines "ruby" and "puppy". The dogs appear to be "normal" beagles in daylight but they glow red using ultraviolet light. Their thin-skinned nails and abdomens appear red even to the naked eye. Professor Lee Byeong-chun, the head of the research team at Seoul National University calls them "the world's first transgenic dogs carrying fluorescent genes; an achievement that goes beyond just the glowing novelty."

Professor Lee told the Associated Press, "What's significant in this work is not the dogs expressing red colors but that we planted genes into them." The team has identified, through DNA tests, the dogs as clones of a cell donor, and announced their accomplishment on "Genesis", the Journal Website.

U.S. and Japanese scientists have already cloned fluorescent pigs and mice, but this development is a breakthrough since this is the first time modified genes have been successfully cloned in dogs, according to Professor Lee.

Skin cells extracted from a beagle by the team who inserted the fluorescent genes into the dogs, implanted them into eggs, and then inserted them into a local mixed breed surrogate female dog's womb.

While further details have not been announced so far as research is still continuing, Dr. Lee is hopeful that this procedure will lead to finding new treatments for conditions like Parkinson's, a genetic disease. Veterinary professor Kong II-keun of South Korea's Gyeongsang National University said, "We can appraise this is a step forward" toward finding cures for human diseases. What is important now is on what specific diseases (Lee's team) will focus on."

Read more: "South Korea claims to have cloned glowing dogs to help cure human diseases" by visiting http://www.nydailynews.com

While I feel strongly that research geared to find cures for both human and animal disease continues, why can't scientists use "in vitro" methods as an alternative to experimenting on live animals? Usually more accurate, in vitro is far easier to perform, is less expensive, and most of all does not require using live animals for research. With the modern techniques available to scientists today, I cannot understand the continuation of using live animals in research geared to human medicine. Perhaps I am alone in my feelings, but it really gets to me.

What are your thoughts about live animal research in the field of human medical science? Leave a comment and share.