At Incheon Airport, the Korean Custom Service has turned to seven cloned pooches to sniff out drug mules. These golden Labrador Retrievers are all the genetic duplicates of Chase, a retired drug-sniffing dog whose nose was among the most discerning Incheon had ever seen.
So far the airport’s had remarkable success apprehending smugglers with these mutts, who cost $100,000 a pop. You can watch a day in the life of four-year-old Tutu, one of these “Toppies” — short for “tomorrow’s puppies” — above.
The Toppies are the creation of Byeong-Chun Lee of Seoul National University, who spends his days creating glow-in-the-dark dogs and cloning wolves. In addition to the drug-sniffing dogs, the airport may clone “quarantine-sniffing dogs” who have the ability to detect certain infectious diseases among passengers.
However abhorrent you may find cloning, I don’t want to live in a world where there aren’t too many Labrador Retrievers. Unless they block out the sun or something, that is.
[CNN via Singularity Hub]
