Losing a pet is never easy. These animals become a part of our family, and often times we wish we could bring them back to life.
Ed and Nina Otto are no different, and when their dog Sir Lancelot was diagnosed with cancer years ago, they went out on a limb and had some of his DNA frozen - just in case cloning was ever possible. Apparently, now it is! The Ottos paid $155,000 to have the yellow lab cloned by South Korean company BioArts International, which makes him the first commercially cloned dog in the U.S.
Lancelot Encore
The OG Lancelot
The new doggie's name is Lancelot Encore - how appropriate.
"He's back with me," said Nina, "in terms of the essence of him, as much as you could probably expect to ever get back someone who died." This is Sir Lancelot, as he was, when he was nice and healthy," said Nina Otto, "probably around the time that we actually took his DNA and froze it." "I know that to a lot of people spending that much money is ridiculous. I've heard some of my friends say 'On a dog?', but it wasn't just a dog. It was Lancelot."
These folks also have eight other dogs (what is it with eights today?), what are the chances they spend $155k to clone them too? Is that the answer, cloning pets again and again? What if this one gets cancer, too?
Ever since Dolly the Sheep was born in 1996, cloning has been the subject of much controversy. Should animals be cloned? Can corporations sell cloned meat unlabeled?
Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, but what we really want to know is...
One of our incredible Street Team members, korirock12, reached out to ChannelOne.com in hopes of getting them to do a piece about SocialVibe and the impact we're making in the online and offline world.
Well, it worked! We've been featured as the "Next Big Thing" on today's episode (January 30, 2009) - which you can find on their homepage at ChannelOne.com.
To watch the video, you'll have to skip to the third segment by clicking on the "forward" button on the video player.
They're also asking their audience to vote in a poll about whether or not SocialVibe is the next big thing - you know what that means! Head over to ChannelOne.com/news/next_big_thing/ and VOTE YES FOR US!
This is really big for us, and the whole office is buzzing about it! HUGE THANKS to korirock12 for reaching out. In appreciation, we're sending her a huge box of SocialVibe swag.
To earn your own SocialVibe swag, join our Street Team. If you manage to get us the same kind of coverage, we'll do the same for you!
Do you watch ChannelOne at your high school? Did you see the piece about SocialVibe?
H&M has just announced that they will be boosting the amount of organic fabrics used in their clothes by the end of 2009 - by 50%! That's a huge jump!
Last year they used about 3,000 tons of organic cotton and recycled materials, which means they'll increase that number to 4,500 tons in 2009.
Why is organic cotton so much better than conventionally grown cotton?TreeHugger breaks it down - "regular" cotton uses an astonishing 10% of the world's pesticides and 25% of insecticides, but only occupies 3% of arable land.... all those pesticides & herbicides pollute our water & air. Blech.
H&M is adding to their green streak by incorporating recycled materials into production: polyester recycled from PET bottles and recycled fabric remnants, as well as recycled cotton from production fabric remnants. also been known to use recycled materials in their production.
The organic & recycled threads will come in many forms. For the ladies: shirts, t-shirts, blouses, and skirts & dresses. Men can get their hands on organic or recycled suits, shirts and sweaters, and the kiddies will have a wide selection of t-shirts, pants, shorts, skirts, vests, jeans and more. Let's not forget the array of accessories they will be offering!
This news brings tears to my eyes, as H&M is far and away my favorite store of all time.
Do you love H&M as much as I do? Would you choose them as a Sponsor on SocialVibe?
Could the answer to world hunger lie in something as uncomplicated as waterproof rice?
About half the world's population eats rice as a staple of it's diet, and two-thirds of the diet of subsistence farmers in India and Bangladesh is made up entirely of rice. If rice crops suffer, it can mean starvation for millions.
University of California-David professor Pamela Ronald & her colleagues have spent the last decade tirelessly working to find a rice strain that could survive flooding for longer periods - yes, waterproof rice.
As sea levels rise and world weather patterns worsen, flooding has become a major cause of rice crop loss. Scientists estimate 4 million tons of rice are lost every year because of flooding - that's enough rice to feed 30 million people.
"People [in the United States] think, well, if I don't have enough rice, I'll go to the store," said Ronald, a professor of plant pathology at UC-Davis. "That's not the situation in these villages. They're mostly subsistence farmers. They don't have cars."
The researchers anticipate that the flood-tolerant rice plants will be available to farmers in Bangladesh and India within two years, where it has been successfully field tested. Because the plants are the product of precision breeding, rather than genetic modification, they are not subject to the same regulatory testing that can delay release of genetically modified crops.
"I feel a great sense of gratitude that I was able to contribute in this way," she said. "But the farmers have asked us, 'Can you develop varieties that are drought tolerant, salt tolerant? Can you develop varieties that are insect resistant?' There are always more things to work on.""I feel a great sense of gratitude that I was able to contribute in this way," she said. "But the farmers have asked us, 'Can you develop varieties that are drought tolerant, salt tolerant? Can you develop varieties that are insect resistant?' There are always more things to work on."
One in seven people worldwide suffer from malnutrition - something like this could have a tremendous impact on changing that number. Isn't science wonderful? What are your thoughts?
Brit rockers Coldplay are playing a charity gig in London with Las Vegas band The Killers to celebrate the 15th anniversary of War Child, a network of independent organizations working across the world to help children affected by war.
The O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire concert, which takes place after the Brit Awards, will also be the launch of the charity album, Heroes. Rock legends such as Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney chose their fave new bands (Lily Allen, Beck, Hot Chip, The Kooks, among others) to cover their classics (it will be released on Feb 24 in the US). Check out the playlist here.
"Coldplay were one of the bands that gave us hope when we were just four boys in a garage. To share the stage with them for the War Child cause is an honor," The Killers said in a statement.
Only 2000 lucky fans will get through the gates for The Killers Coldplay charity concert, with tickets only available by lottery from War Child starting January 30.
How badly do you want to go to this?! With only 2,000 people, there won't be a bad seat in the house.
The woman in California who gave birth to octuplets in five minutes this past Monday was finally able to see her babies yesterday. She is only the second woman in history to give birth to eight children at once - and even more remarkable, doctors weren't aware of the eighth baby until the actual birth!
“It was a shock, especially with the eighth baby, my eyes were definitely wide," said Kaiser Permanente doctors. "This patient was incredibly courageous, very strong, did all that we asked to … have an optimal outcome for delivery. She was a marvelous patient.”
Surprise! Another baby! As if eight kids wouldn't crowd the home enough, CBS discovered yesterday the woman was already the mother of six! That brings the grand total to fourteen children. Yowza.
The babies were born between 1 and 3lbs each, and seven of the eight are now breathing on their own.
Early Show correspondent Hattie Kauffman took their investigation to the neighborhood, a cozy cul-de-sac where she lives with her mother, four older sons and two older daughters. They filmed interviews with anonymous neighbors, which you can see below.
Thousands of SocialVibe members and their friends participated in our recent vote with Jones Soda Co. and Vitamin Angels.The program with the most votes will receive a $5,000 donation from Jones Soda Co.
Well, the votes have been tabulated, and the $5,000 will go to...
Save 20,000 children in India from going blind from vitamin A deficiencies and parasites. Vitamin A is critical to a child’s normal development. Forty percent of children in the developing world suffer from Vitamin A deficiencies.
What a tremendous impact we'll be making! Special thanks to Jones Soda Co. for their generosity, and of course, thanks to all the SocialVibe members who chose Jones Soda Co. as their Sponsor, thus allowing themselves and their friends to get involved in this important cause.
This particular Song of the Day requires a bit of a story. I heard this song on the radio a couple of weeks ago, and instantly loved it (you can't say that about many songs). I found out who it was in about 15 seconds thanks to my handy Shazam iPhone app, and downloaded it the first chance I had.
When I decided to make it the SocialVibeSong of the Day, I had to go searching for the music video. Much to my delight, I discovered that the video starred (and was directed by) the marvelously talented comic duo Tim & Eric, of the Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! on Adult Swim.
Ben Folds + Regina Spektor + Tim & Eric = Could it get any better?!
Today's SocialVibeSong of the Day is Ben Folds - You Don't Know Me (featuring Regina Spektor), of their newest album Way To Normal. Check it out and let us know what you think in our poll below.
And if you haven't already, do yourself a favor and check out Tim & Eric. Most. Hilarious. Ever.
Do you have a suggestion for Song of the Day? Send to editors@socialvibe.com. Be sure to make your subject line "Song of the Day" and include your SocialVibe URL. If we use your song, you will be awarded 50 SocialVibe points!
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