Interesting Facts

A Beatles fan is allegedly aiming to clone John Lennon from DNA extracted from a tooth. (The tooth was sold in auction (which in itself is profoundly disturbing), and bought for just under £20,000 by Canadian dentist Michael Zuk. He is now attempting to sequence the DNA, which is the first step in the cloning process. (He's also selling Lennon DNA pendants and tooth dust.) You can follow the story on http://www.johnlennontooth.com/ Yes, that is a valid web address.) 

A 9/11 hero dog has been cloned. (Five clones have been made of a search and rescue dog which helped locate people trapped in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks. Trakr, who died in April, won a competition to find the world's most "cloneworthy" dog, organized by California firm BioArts International -- the "Golden Clone Giveaway". James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, and Trakr arrived at the site of the World Trade Center collapse, commonly referred to as Ground Zero, on September 12, 2001 and were one of the first K9 search and rescue teams on the scene. After working nearly non-stop for 48 hours, Trakr located the last human survivor found in the rubble of the twin towers. The five puppies; Trustt, Valor, Prodigy, Solace and Deja Vu -- will go on to follow in Trakr's pawsteps. Canine clones cost an average of $144,000 dollars each.) Source: AFP

Scientists in Dubai say they have cloned a camel. (Injaz, a female one-humped camel, was born on 8 April, after more than five years of work. She joins the world's first mammal to be cloned, Dolly the Sheep, along with several cloned mice, cows, pigs and dogs. Personally I can't see the point. Cloning is extremely complicated and expensive, and sex is much more enjoyable.)

S Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk cloned the first dog back in 2005. (It is called Snuppy, and has since fathered 9 puppies. I keep looking at Sam and wondering...)