World's first IVF puppies born to surrogate mother dog

The world's first IVF puppies have been born after years of attempts, say scientists in the US. The in-vitro fertilisation advance paves the way for conserving endangered breeds and could help in the fight against human and animal diseases, say researchers at Cornell University. The seven beagle and cross-bred beagle-cocker spaniel puppies were born to a surrogate mother. They were all from the same litter but have three sets of parents. Frozen embryos were implanted in a female dog using techniques similar to those used in human fertility clinics. Problems with freezing embryos have caused difficulties in the past, but the group say they have perfected the technique. Lead researcher Dr Alex Travis, from Cornell's college of veterinary medicine, said: "We have seven normal happy healthy puppies." He added: "Since the mid-1970s, people have been trying to do this in a dog and have been unsuccessful. "Now we can use this technique to conserve the genetics of endangered species."...more