Ruppy, the Glowing Red Beagle Clone

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So, scientists in South Korea went and cloned themselves a puppy. (Not for the first time, mind you—don’t forget Snuppy in 2005.)

No, today’s cloned dog, Ruppy the beagle, has the dubious honor of also glowing ruby red (thank you, sea anemones) under ultraviolet light. Hooray, science?

From the New Scientist:

A cloned beagle named Ruppy – short for Ruby Puppy – is the world’s first transgenic dog. She and four other beagles all produce a fluorescent protein that glows red under ultraviolet light.

A team led by Byeong-Chun Lee of Seoul National University in South Korea created the dogs by cloning fibroblast cells that express a red fluorescent gene produced by sea anemones.

Don’t miss the second photo of cute, creepy, glowing Ruppy. Here’s a slow loris chaser if you need one. Via Digg, that teeming cesspool of fascination.

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