Professor Hwang Woo-suk achieved another stunning scientific landmark with his successful cloning of dogs. However, Hwang's feat ignited controversy in a field that holds the answer to the ultimate question of human replication. _ ED. Many South Korean scientists have heaped praise on Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo-suk for his success in cloning a dog. "So many geneticists in the world have tried to replicate a dog but all of them have suffered from bitter setbacks without producing any tangible results. Hwang overcame the long-standing hurdle," said Kong Il-keun, professor at Suncheon National University. Kong, who replicated six cats last year for the first time in Korea, said that cloning dogs is of immense clinical value because the dog is physiologically very close to a human. The dog has as many as 203 genes that can be used as disease models for human beings. In comparison, the tallies stand at just 65 for the pig and 123 for the cat. "Hwang's research established the likelihood for the production of genetically identical animal models for the study of veterinary and human disease processes and treatment pathways," he said. Kong added his team also conducted canine cloning experiments and hinted that more cloned puppies will be born soon although he refused to elaborate. Jinju (Chinju) National University professor Park Hee-sung echoed Kong. Park created a goat clone in June. "In addition to quelling doubts on the limitation of animal cloning, Hwang brightened the prospects of commercially replicating pets by bringing the canine reproductive system to light," Park said. He added that dog cloning would represent by far the largest potential market because there would be heavy demands for replicating the closest companion of humans. "Many dog owners here in Korea or other countries feel a deep and exclusive love for their pet. When it dies, they would jockey for position to return it through cloning instead of remaining inconsolable for years if proper technologies become available," Park said. In Western countries, many people are already spending money in the hope of reviving their beloved family dogs. By taking a small skin sample from their dogs and having it frozen and stored, the work needed for nuclear transfer cloning by securing somatic cells, they are waiting for the dawning era of replicating them affordably. As Park pointed out, Korea seems to have a shot at sweeping the future dog cloning market as the government gets wind of the trend and looks to preempt it. The Ministry of Science and Technology is considering launching a project aimed at accelerating the development of know-how related to cloning pets. After Scottish embryologist Ian Wilmut created the first mammal clone, Dolly the sheep, in 1997, almost all domestic animals have been replicated. A mouse, calf and goat were duplicated in 1998 and a pig joined the list in 2000. Scientists cloned a rabbit and cat two years later and a mule, horse, deer and rat in 2003. However, the dog remained a hurdle because it was difficult to harvest mature eggs from it before Hwang surpassed arguably the last barrier for animals.