Spot's Eternal Return

Greg Beato reports on dog cloning:

In July four anonymous pet owners submitted winning bids in the BioArts clone auctions. The prices they paid ranged from $140,000 to $170,000. For that fee, Hawthorne says, they'll get a puppy that is guaranteed to have "a very high degree of physical resemblance" to their original pet. Cloning isn't doggy reincarnation, but Hawthorne says it's more than just similar markings. "I thought it was going to be about look," he says of his first clone, "and maybe someday behavioral similarity. But it's a much more visceral experience than that-the feel, the smell. When they first handed me Mira in Korea, you could see the look of genuine astonishment on my face."