Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts (27 page)

On February 16, 2000
: Hawthorne, “A Project to Clone Companion Animals.”

“a futuristic stocking stuffer…”
: “Genetic Savings & Clone Gift Certificates: The Perfect 21st Century Stocking Stuffer,” Genetic Savings & Clone, November 20, 2001,
www.savingsandclone.com/news/press_releases_05.html
(site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive on June 22, 2011,
http://web.archive.org/web/20060510144138/www.savingsandclone.com/news/press_releases_05.html
).

The A&M team knew
: Mark Westhusin, e-mail message to author, June 12, 2012.

so that’s what they harvested
: Taeyoung Shin et al., “A Cat Cloned by Nuclear Transplantation,”
Nature
415 (February 21, 2002): 859.

somatic-cell nuclear transfer
: The basics of somatic-cell nuclear transfer are covered in Wilmut and Highfield,
After Dolly
, 116–18; and Nicholl,
An Introduction to Genetic Engineering
.

Westhusin and his team
: The procedure for cloning Rainbow is outlined in Shin et al., “A Cat Cloned by Nuclear Transplantation.” (More-detailed procedures are available in the supplementary information that accompanies the paper online at
www.nature.com/nature/journal/v415/n6874/suppinfo/nature723.html
.)

The egg, thus “tricked”
: This “tricked” description comes from Ian Wilmut, the scientist who led the Dolly team, in his description of somatic-cell nuclear transfer in Wilmut and Highfield,
After Dolly
, 118.

The researchers ended up … was indeed Rainbow’s clone
: Shin et al., “A Cat Cloned by Nuclear Transplantation.”

short for “Carbon Copy”
: Mark Westhusin, e-mail message, February 22, 2012.

technically, clones produced
: Information about mitochondrial DNA and why animals created through SCNT are not quite identical to their donors comes from Wilmut and Highfield,
After Dolly
, 133–34; “Mitochondrial DNA,” National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, accessed March 12, 2012,
http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/chromosome/MT
. Mark Westhusin, e-mail message to author, February 2, 2012.

In creating Dolly, for instance … would be Dolly
: Wilmut et al., “Viable Offspring”; Wilmut and Highfield,
After Dolly
, 124.

Dolly died at age six … took Dolly’s life
: Wilmut and Highfield,
After Dolly
, 25–31.

and assisted reproductive technologies … by other means
: Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
Animal Cloning: A Risk Assessment
(Rockville, MD: January 8, 2008), available at
www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AnimalCloning/UCM055489
.

That’s what the FDA concluded … offspring appeared to be normal
: Ibid.

“it is not possible…”
: Ibid., 10.

“An egg knows how…”
: Westhusin, discussion, May 2011.

Incomplete or flawed reprogramming
: For much more on reprogramming failures and abnormal gene expression in clones, see Center for Veterinary Medicine,
Animal Cloning: A Risk Assessment
, 59–92.

Fortunately, CC was
: Shin et al., “A Cat Cloned by Nuclear Transplantation.”

For about a year, CC … claimed CC
: Kraemer, discussion, December 2010.

He grew up on a dairy farm
: The details of Kraemer’s background are from ibid.

“CC has her own house…”
: Ibid.

“We figured we should probably breed her…”
: Ibid.

The matchmakers introduced CC … perfectly healthy
: Ibid.

“I never thought … we had the lion”
: Shirley Kraemer, in discussion with author, College Station, Texas, December 5, 2010.

So far, CC shows no signs
: Kraemer, discussion, December 2010.

The mostly likely explanation … was turned off
: Ibid.; Kraemer, discussion, June, 2011.

“a zoo brought a pair of lion cubs…”
: Kraemer, discussion, June 2011.

they duplicated a Brahman bull named Chance
: Details about the cloning of Chance are from Westhusin, discussion, May 2011. The crew for the television version of
This American Life
, which was filming a segment on Fisher and his bulls, happened to be at the ranch the second time Second Chance attacked. Ira Glass, the show’s host, interviewed Fisher in his hospital bed the next day. (“Reality Check,”
This American Life
, season 1, episode 1, aired March 27, 2007).

“Cloning is reproduction…”
: Westhusin, discussion, May 2011.

For his part, Kraemer was thrilled
: Kraemer, discussion, December 2010.

“People can be taken advantage of…”
: Kraemer, discussion, October 2009.

“Nine Lives Extravaganza”
: “Nine Lives Extravaganza,” Genetic Savings & Clone, August 8, 2004,
http://savingsandclone.com/services/9lives.html
(site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive on March 26, 2012,
http://web.archive.org/web/20040808043806/http://savingsandclone.com/services/9lives.html
); John Suval, “Cloning for Cash: A&M’s Pet Project Spawns a Company to Mix DNA with Possible IPOs,”
Houston Press,
April 20, 2000; Wade Roush, “Genetic Savings & Clone: No Pet Project,”
Technology Review
, March 2005; Ivan Oransky, “Cloning for Profit: Cloned Kittens Are Cute, but How Profitable Are Animal Cloning Companies?”
The Scientist
, January 31, 2005; Maryann Mott, “Cat Cloning Offered to Pet Owners,”
National Geographic News
, March 25, 2004; “Bereaved Cat Owner Gets $50,000 Clone,”
New York Times
, December 23, 2004,
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9503E1DE1130F930A15751C1A9629C8B63
.

“If you feel that your kitten…”
: “Cat Cloning,” Genetic Savings & Clone, April 27, 2006,
http://savingsandclone.com/services/cat_cloning.html
(site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive,
http://web.archive.org/web/20060427120819/http://savingsandclone.com/services/cat_cloning.html
).

a cloned Maine coon cat named Little Nicky
: “First-Ever Presentation of Pet Clone to Paying Client,” Genetic Savings & Clone, December 23, 2004,
www.savingsandclone.com/news/press_releases_11.html
(site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive, February 7, 2012,
http://web.archive.org/web/20060510143749/www.savingsandclone.com/news/press_releases_11.html
).

“He is identical”
: Ibid.

Despite the success
: Kraemer, discussion, December 2010; Woestendiek,
Dog, Inc.

The vagaries of the canine reproductive system … eggs out of her body
: Westhusin, discussion, May 2011, and e-mail message, June 2012.

“The logistics of it…”
: Westhusin, discussion, May 2011.

managed to coax two canines … stillborn pup
: Kraemer, discussion, December 2010.

GSC shut down
: “Background: Missyplicity Project,” BioArts International; Paul Elias, “Cat-Cloning Company to Close Its Doors,” Associated Press, October 12, 2006.

at the helm of a startup called BioArts International
: “BioArts Team: Lou Hawthorne,” BioArts International, accessed June 24, 2011,
http://bioartsinternational.com/team.htm
.

he connected with Hwang Woo Suk
: “Missy: Accomplished!” BioArts International, February 3, 2009,
http://bestfriendsagain.com/missyplicity/missy.html
(site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive on March 26, 2012,
http://web.archive.org/web/20090203144135/http://bestfriendsagain.com/missyplicity/missy.html
).

the world’s first cloned dog
: B. C. Lee, “Dogs Cloned from Adult Somatic Cells,”
Nature
436 (August 4, 2005): 641.

Mira, Chingu, and Sarang
: “Missy: Accomplished!” BioArts International.

Hwang has also been accused
: Information about Hwang’s fall from grace is in David Cyranoski, “Verdict: Hwang’s Human Stem Cells Were All Fakes,”
Nature
439 (January 12, 2006): 122–23; David Cyranoski, “Woo Suk Hwang Convicted, but Not of Fraud,”
Nature
461 (October 26, 2009); and “Timeline of a Controversy,”
Nature
, December 19, 2005,
www.nature.com/news/2005/051219/full/news051219-3.html
.

“As a cloning company…”
: Ed Pilkington, “Dog Hailed as Hero Cloned by California Company,”
Guardian
, June 18, 2009,
www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/18/trakr-dog-september-11-clone
.

“Missy: Accomplished!”
: “Missy: Accomplished!” BioArts International.

and noted that like
: “A Rose Is a Rose,” BioArts International, February 3, 2009,
www.bestfriendsagain.com/missyplicity/rose.html
, (site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive on March 26, 2012,
http://web.archive.org/web/20090203042926/http://bestfriendsagain.com/missyplicity/rose.html
).

BioArts announced the “Best Friends Again”
 …
a free copy
: “Auction Information,” BioArts International, May 25, 2008,
www.bestfriendsagain.com/auction/index.html
(site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive on June 24, 2011,
http://web.archive.org/web/20080525201755/www.bestfriendsagain.com/auction/index.html
); “Golden Clone Giveaway: Rules,” BioArts International, June 4, 2008,
www.bestfriendsagain.com/goldenclonegiveaway/rules.html
(site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive on June 24, 2011,
http://web.archive.org/web/20080604090315/www.bestfriendsagain.com/goldenclonegiveaway/rules.html
).

50 million to 100 million animals
: Nuffield Council on Bioethics,
The Ethics of Research Involving Animals
, 7.

the secret to the South Koreans’ success … sold for their meat
: Westhusin, discussion, May 2011; Mark Walton, in discussion with author, Austin, Texas, December 3, 2010; Lou Hawthorne, “Six Reasons We’re No Longer Cloning Dogs,” BioArts International, September 10, 2009, accessed June 2, 2011,
www.bioarts.com/press_release/ba09_09_09.htm
(the URL still exists, but the content has changed—it no longer features Hawthorne’s release); Woestendiek,
Dog, Inc.

The winner of the Golden Clone Giveaway
: “Golden Clone Giveaway,” BioArts International, July 5, 2008,
www.bestfriendsagain.com/goldenclonegiveaway/index.html
(site discontinued, accessed via Internet Archive on June 24, 2011,
http://web.archive.org/web/20080705173449/www.bestfriendsagain.com/goldenclonegiveaway/index.html
).

Team Trakr … trained to participate
: “Team Trakr,” Team Trakr Foundation, accessed June 25, 2011,
www.teamtrakr.org
.

Researchers sometimes inflict physical pain … stressful experiments
: For more on the difference between pain and suffering, and potential sources of both to lab animals, see ibid., 61–81.

“Animals have the same desires…”
: Marc Bekoff, in discussion with author via telephone, November 2, 2011.