Indonesian helps clone 1st dog

YOGYAKARTA: Yuda Heru Fibrianto, a lecturer from Gadjah Mada University (UGM)'s School of Veterinary Medicine, was among the researchers at a South Korean university who recently created the world's first cloned dog.

Speaking at a news conference here on Friday, the dean of UGM's School of Veterinary Medicine, Charles Ranggatabu, expressed pride over the breakthrough, saying that it had added to the long list of achievements of UGM lecturers.

"He is probably the first Indonesian who has ever taken part in such a prestigious, world-class research project, and whose report was published in the prestigious scientific journal, Nature," Charles said.

Yuda and 10 other researchers under the supervision of Prof. Byeong Chun Lee produced the world's first cloned puppy from genetic material taken from an Afghan hound.

The Yogyakarta-born Yuda, 36, who hopes to finish his doctorate at Seoul National University this year, has chosen his work on the cloning project as the topic for his dissertation, Charles said.

"He has promised to continue his research here once he returns to UGM," he added. --JP