Elite Sniffer Dogs Coming to Airport Near You?

Lab Retrievers Genetically Identical To Legendary Sniffer Dog

INCHEON, South Korea (CNN) -- A small army of elite, highly trained clones are sent on a mission to route out drugs and ammunition from the city. Every few hours they report back to their masters, to whom they've been devoted since birth.

But this isn't the set of a low-budget sci-fi flick; it's the departure lounge of South Korea's Incheon Airport, where seven "super clone" sniffer-dogs have been dispatched in the war against contraband luggage.

The pack of golden Labrador Retrievers are all genetically identical to "Chase," whose legendary snout kept him top of Incheon's drug-detection rankings right up until his retirement in 2007.

But now after years of training, the new class is following in their genetic donor's paw-prints, consistently outperforming the rest of South Korea's naturally born sniffers in the hunt for heroin, cocaine and methamphetamines.

They are the work of Professor Byeong-chun Lee, who established his reputation in 2005 as the driving force behind Snuppy (an amalgam of Seoul National University puppy), the world's first ever dog clone.

"The officers in Korean Custom Service read our dog-cloning article and they suggested the project to us," recalls Lee.

Indeed, Korean customs had a problem on their hands. Only three out of every 10 selectively bred sniffer dogs that it trained --- at a cost of about $40,140 each -- had the nostrils and the discipline for the job.

Although the seven Labrador clones cost upwards of $100,000 each, every single one of them made the grade.

But Lee refuses to take all the credit: "I think half of the ability comes from the genetic background and half comes from the training," he said.

Lending weight, if it were needed, to the claim that aptitude is indeed a balance of nature and nurture, the dogs still display variations in performance despite their identical genes.

And leader of the pack is Tutu. "Last year, he won a medal for detecting the most drugs at the ICN (Incheon) airport," boasts his long-time handler Park Ji-yong.

Like his septuplet brothers, Tutu began training for the job at the age one and now, as a mature 4-year-old, works five to six hourly shifts a day.

"He's very active and energetic ... he's kind of tough ... and he only likes me, which makes me feel good," beams Ji-yong.

But it's not just drug-mules and meth-addicts that need fear the arrival of this sniffing super-breed. Lee's next clone will be a high-performance "quarantine dog" -- gifted with an enhanced capacity for detecting the presence of disease in humans.

Lee says that, due to the high number of travelers passing through Incheon, the airport has experienced problems with the spread of infectious diseases, "so the Korean government have asked us to clone some quarantine sniffing dogs"

Beyond the airport barriers, Professor Lee spends his time cloning a variety of other canine breeds, each with a specific purpose in mind.

"Some clients want to replicate their own pets" says Lee. In other cases, the scientist works in conservation, creating identical copies of endangered animals.

"Wolves are endangered species in Korea, especially grey wolves. We collected cells from the ear of wolves...and transported to surrogate dogs and finally we produced cloned wolves" says Lee.

So, now that he's cloned man's best friend, are there any plans for man himself?

"Scientifically all the animals, including humans, can be cloned, but I have never thought about (it). It's illegal and it's an ethical problem."



Article by From Becky Anderson and George Webster CNN

Copyright CNN 2011

 

 

Cats and dogs use same technique to lap up liquid

Cats and dogs have at last got something in common - at least when it comes to quenching their thirst.  

Until now, it was thought that they used remarkably different techniques to drink: for felines, an elegant lap; for canines, a messy scoop.

But scientists have shown the domestic rivals both use the same subtle balance between inertia and gravity to draw liquid into their mouths.

The research is published in the journal Biology Letters.

Cats v dogs
In 2010, a study in the journal Science, revealed the physics behind how cats lap.

Using high-speed cameras, scientists filmed Cutta Cutta the cat, who belonged to lead author Roman Stocker from the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as she drank. 

The study suggests the common ancestor of cats and dogs
would have used the same technique

They found that as her tongue came into contact with the surface of the water, the liquid stuck to it. Then, as she drew her tongue back towards her mouth, it created a water column, thanks to inertia, which means liquid has a tendency to continue moving in the direction it is being pulled

High-speed cameras trained on Cutta Cutta the cat revealed how felines lap up liquid (footage courtesy of Pedro Reis, Sunghwan Jung, Jeffrey Aristoff and Roman Stocker)

Finally, when the column was at its peak - and before gravity forced it back down - she snapped her jaw shut, capturing the liquid.

While cats were heralded for their grasp of fluid mechanics, the authors suggested that thirsty dogs simply scooped up water by using their mobile tongues as ladles.

But now, dog-owning scientist Professor Alfred Crompton, from Harvard University, working with Catherine Musinsky who is also from Harvard, has revealed that canines are just as sophisticated as cats when it comes to having a drink.

He said: "We felt we should stand up for the dogs and write this paper."
To discover in precise detail how dogs drink, he trained a high-speed camera as well as an X-ray camera onto his dog Matilda.

He said: "At first, it looked like dogs were scooping, but that is a snare and a delusion."

Messy drinkers
In fact, the footage revealed that any water caught up in her spoon-shaped tongue quickly dropped out before hitting her mouth.

Instead, just like a cat, water was adhering to the back of Matilda's tongue to create a water column. And then, just as the water was about to fall back towards the bowl, she was snapping her mouth shut to get her drink.

The only difference between cats and dogs was the fact that the cats tended not to break the surface of the water with their tongues, while dogs opted to penetrate their tongues deep into the bowl.

Professor Crompton said this may be down to a difference in grooming.

He explained: "Cats are just a little more particular about the mess they make. They always like to be neat and clean and to tidy themselves up. They curl their tongue backwards and lay it onto the surface of liquid without penetrating it, so they don't make a mess.

"Dogs on the other hand are a bit more exuberant - they don't worry about spreading the liquid around and making a mess."

The surprising similarity between cats and dogs reveals that a common ancestor would have used this technique too, Professor Crompton added.


Article By Rebecca Morelle Science reporter, BBC News 
Cats and dogs use same technique to lap up liquid 

Dogs 'approve' London Royal Parks drinking holes

Dogs have been trying out a new type of water fountain specially designed for London's Royal Parks.

The polystyrene prototype of "Watering Holes", tested in Hyde Park, is one of a two of creations chosen to replace ageing fountains in eight parks.

Dogs in Hyde Park were asked to try out a prototype of the water fountain

And dog walkers said the design, which has a shallow scoop carved into the lower watering hole, proved popular as their pets could lap the water.

The first water fountain will be installed later this year.

Watering Holes and Trumpet were the winning designs chosen in an international competition, organised by the Royal Parks Foundation, to find the "Ultimate Drinking Fountain". 

Bowl feature

Entrants were judged on aesthetics, robustness for life in a public park, ease of maintenance and installation, sustainability and environmental impact and affordability.
A consultation with dogs and their owners began last month and the designs, tweaked after feedback, are now complete.

The design was tweaked after feedback from pet owners

Robin Monotti and Mark Titman, designers of Watering Holes, said: "Whilst it does appear slightly comical, the dog consultation phase is actually a very important stage of the design process and has helped us to ensure the design is functionally suitable for all users.

"The addition of the new bowl feature has been very well received by dogs, and owners have confirmed their dogs would be much more likely to drink from it now."

A $1.25m (£765,000) grant from the Tiffany & Co Foundation will pay for one of each of the winning designs to be installed in one of the Royal Parks this year, with more fountains of each designs to be added.

It is part of a project, called Tiffany - Across the Water, which aims to restore the Royal Parks' historic drinking fountains and replace those beyond repair with new ones.

A 20ft (6m) tall plume fountain will be recreated in St James's Park, and Kensington Gardens' 19th Century Italian Gardens will be restored as part of the scheme.

The Royal Parks Foundation is responsible for Bushy Park, The Green Park, Greenwich Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, The Regent's Park and Primrose Hill, Richmond Park and St James's Park.