February 12, 2004

UI Scientist, Cloned Mules Featured at AAAS Conference in Seattle

SEATTLE – Dr. Gordon Woods, the University of Idaho scientist who led the research team that successfully produced the first clone in the horse family, will be a featured speaker at the American Association for the Advancement of Science's annual meeting currently underway here.

Woods is part of a panel that will discuss "Cloning Controversies: Ethics, Science and Society" at 8 a.m. , Monday, Feb. 16, at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle . He is available to meet with reporters at noon , Sunday, Feb. 15. That session will be held on the exhibit floor at the center where Idaho Gem, the world's first cloned equine, and his brothers, Utah Pioneer and Idaho Star, will be on display for Family Science Day Sunday afternoon.

Woods, a professor of veterinary science in the UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, heads the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory at UI. His partners on the cloning project are Dr. Dirk Vanderwall, UI assistant professor of animal and veterinary science, and Dr. Ken White, Utah State University professor of animal, dairy and veterinary science.

The AAAS annual meeting is one of the premier gatherings of scientists from a variety of disciplines from around the globe.

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CONTACTS: Kathy Barnard, UI Communications, (208) 885-6291, kbarnard@uidaho.edu ; or science writer Bill Loftus, (208) 301-3566, bloftus@uidaho.edu