William Saletan nails it about doggie engineering, whether the outcry concerns snuppy the clone or the announcement that the DNA of canines has been decoded. His wry point is that the story that working on dog genomics will help heal humans by modeling new therapies is
... a heartwarming story, but it's a fraud. The reason we targeted the dog genome for decoding is that it's useful for genetic research. The reason it's useful for genetic research is that dogs are neatly divided into breeds, each of which is plagued by specific diseases. And the reason dogs are divided into diseased breeds is that we made them that way. Dogs are the world's longest self-serving, ecologically reckless genetic experiment, perpetrated by the world's first genetically engineering species: us.
Plus the fur gets in everything. You will never really have black clothing again. Engineer that.
