See the First-Ever IVF Puppies

There’s a sober and scientific way to react to the news that a group of researchers has produced a litter of puppies through in vitro fertilization (IVF), and that is to read the published paper, evaluate the benefits of the work and consider what its future applications could be. Then there’s the other way, which is closer to: “Ooooh, puppies! I bet they’re so cute!” OK, so maybe I’m part of that second group, but there’s a lot to be said for the first approach too, as the study—which was just published on the open-access site PLoS One—makes clear. Even in a world in which millions of rescue dogs are in need of homes, canine IVF just might pay surprising dividends, ones that could benefit not just dogs, but human beings too. Humanity’s love affair with dogs is an ancient bond, going back to our hunter-gatherer days, and the relationship has been a two-way thing. Dogs offer us work, protection and companionship and we pay them in the wages of food, shelter, and longer lives than they would have a chance to live in the wild. But there have been problems too. For one thing, not all kinds of dogs were welcomed aboard the human gravy train, and some wild breeds, such as the African Painted Dog, now face the threat of extinction. What’s more, the centuries of intensive breeding that have given us such a huge variety of domesticated dogs have also selected for certain diseases and disabilities, with dalmatians being ...
Source: TIME: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Uncategorized animals Biology canines Dogs Genetic Engineering Genetics in vitro fertiliztion IVF reproduction Source Type: news