DNA tests have confirmed that an Afghan hound is the world's first cloned dog, even though the South Korean scientist who created Snuppy has been accused of falsifiying data on other studies.

Woo Suk Hwang, who led the Seoul National University team that created Snuppy, had also claimed in May 2004 that he had created the first patient-matched stem cells from cloned human embryos.

But a panel of experts at the university later found that he used fabricated data in his study, in one of the biggest scandals to hit the scientific world in recent years.

Snuppy the cloned dog. (AP file photo)
Snuppy the cloned dog. (AP file photo)

A committee at Seoul National University that has been investigating the human and canine studies concluded that Snuppy was produced using cloning techniques.

"Our analysis rules out most feasible alternatives to a true clone," the researchers wrote in Thursday's issue of Nature. The peer-reviewed journal also published the original dog cloning study.

The panel analyzed DNA from:

  • The puppy.
  • His genetic donor, a three-year-old hound named Tai.
  • The surrogate mother, a yellow Labrador retriever.
  • An unidentified egg donor.
  • Other pedigree dogs.

They concluded Snuppy is a clone, given how genetically similar it is to Tai.

Elaine Ostrander at the U.S. National Institutes of Health double-checked the samples provided by South Korean researchers and came to the same conclusion.

Snuppy was named after Seoul National University.

It was created using the same technique that in 1997 produced the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep.

It has been more difficult for scientists to clone dogs because canine eggs are more immature during ovulation than those of other mammals.

Hwang's team found a way to recover mature eggs from the oviduct.

Hwang was hailed as a national hero before his human stem-cell study was discredited because the development held the promise of creating tailored therapies for diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's.

The cloning scandal not only put Hwang's research into disrepute, but also raised questions about the process of peer review.

In peer review, journal editors ask independent experts to check the validity of scientific claims before publishing studies.