Amid the news of stem cell research fabrication investigation into the works of Prof. Hwang Woo-suk (Hwanggate) which is rocking South Korea and the stem cell research community worldwide, there is finally some good news for the scientist. DNA tests categorically prove that Snuppy is truly cloned from Afgan terrier Tai.

HumanPass, a Korean institute, said that its DNA tests proved Prof. Hwang Woo-suk at Seoul National University (SNU) had successfully cloned a dog.

HumanPass Wednesday confirmed fingerprinting traces of Snuppy, Hwang’s canine clone, matched those of its somatic cell donor, an Afghan hound named Tai, while they demonstrated disparate mitochondrial genotypes. Snuppy was cast under suspicion following revelations that the Korean scientist had fabricated his stem cell research.

“This is an indisputable piece of evidence that Snuppy is a clone. I am sure of the results because I myself watched as Hwang’s team extract blood samples from the two dogs,” HumanPass chief executive Rhee Seung-jae said.

Park Se-pill, head of Seoul-based fertility clinic Maria Biotech, said the tests can silence Hwang’s critics who have suggested the dog might be a twin created from a split embryo rather than a clone.

“With this, Hwang demonstrated his team’s technical prowess in cloning. It brightens the prospects that his team retains the source technologies for stem cell research,” Park said.
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