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Re: [RC] Cloned horse different Color? - Zephyr ArabiansI thought Pieraz was a gray? This foal is chestnut. That sure looked like a grey foal to me. Greys can often be hard to tell in some foals, but that one struck me as definately grey even in the small photos. Interesting point though. Why would cloning adult cells reset the greying process to neonatal status? Would you rather the foal burst out of the mare as an adult? ;) Seriously, once the process has gone from the cloned cell to an actual embryo I would expect the rest of the process to work just like a "natural" baby. The hair of the foal, just like it's little body & brain (& "soul" if you will) are those of a newborn. This is one of the peculiarities of cloning. Just like with "identical" twins, the same genes can manifest themselves differently. I've seen pictures of cloned cats who were different colors, different markings, AND different sizes! The cloned cats that I saw that were "different colors" were actually both the same color, but the markings were different. This is because markings are not entirely genetic in their makeup; they also have an environmental/developmental aspect (in utero). This is true of many traits, but is a known trait of markings. It's also a trait of size to some degree -- environment can certainly affect that as well (in utero & later). :) Will the colt even make it to 4 to do LD??? The article said he was destined entirely for breeding. Does this lay in the term performance chemistry enhancement? Horse or robot/ Robot??? Now, I'm not really a fan of cloning, but the resulting cloned animal is a living, breathing individual. It's just not the SAME individual as the one it was cloned from. rules say on flat track they have to be made naturally. Would this fly for endurance? The TB race world is in a world of their own when it comes to antiquated rules & beliefs (not that I'm saying they should endorse cloning). I can't imagine a cloned horse from an outstanding individual would have any more advantage for endurance (or any other performance sport) than an individual bred for that sport from outstanding parents. A couple web sites on cloning. The first, is the one doing pet cloning currently. I couldn't even go read that site, but pet cloning is the aspect of cloning that probably bothers me the most. The cloned animal is NOT the same animal. As someone who loves my pets beyond reason, the idea of cloning them sickens me. The result would be a different individual -- so why not just go get a different individual? What I love about my pets is not what they look like -- and as discussed there's no guarantee of that with cloning due to developmental traits -- so why clone to create another life at such expense when there are so many unwanted and abandoned animals out there looking for homes? As for cloning horses/performance animals, as I said above I don't feel a cloned animal would have any advantage over an animal bred from parents that are outstanding in the chosen sport. As for livestock, I think widespread use of cloning (as I understand has been proposed in some species) would contribute to limiting the genepool. Not a good thing to do to a breed or species. Well, this got a lot longer than I meant it to go. I think the mention of pet cloning set me off. :) ~Nicole * Zephyr Arabians & KattWmn Web Design * * http://www.zephyrarabians.com * * http://www.kattwmn.com * *Native Californian Newly Transplanted to the PNW* * * * You have the right to remain silent, anything * * you say can be misquoted and used against you. * =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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