Chinese Scientists Create Super Dog Through Genetic Manipulation

Using genetic engineering, Chinese scientists have succeeded in breeding a dog with muscle and strength twice that of ordinary dogs. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology magazine, these scientists doubled the muscle mass of a specific breed of dog by eliminating a particular protein in its body. These mutated dogs 'have more muscles and are expected to have greater running power, making them better hunters and police dogs.' According to Lingzhu Lai, one of the researchers on this project, the next step is to create changes in the genes of these dogs that would allow them to develop human-related muscle diseases such as Parkinson's. Creating dogs with human diseases will allow these scientists to gain a better understanding of the causes of these diseases and their treatments. According to the Independent, to engineer these dogs, researchers removed the growth-related protein (myostatin) from their bodies. By inhibiting this gene, the muscle mass of the animals is significantly increased, making them stronger than normal. Recent achievements and advancements in genetic science allow scientists to easily manipulate the genes of various organisms. This group of scientists claims that these muscular dogs are actually evidence of the possibility of making such changes, and they hope to create more genetic modifications in these animals in the near future. Out of 65 embryos that scientists genetically manipulated, 27 puppies were born, two of which lack the myostatin protein. These two dogs have been named Hercules and Tiango. The growth gene was discovered by scientists in 1997, and its manipulation in mice led to the creation of what are known as 'super mice.' Although, theoretically, this change could occur without genetic manipulation in humans, the likelihood is very low. For example, more than a decade ago, doctors reported the birth of a baby who lacked this protein and was very muscular and strong.