October 17, 2003

UI Introduces Third Mule Clone;
Sets Stage for Future Research

MOSCOW, Idaho – Culminating years of research, scientists from the University of Idaho and Utah State University today formally introduced the world’s first three cloned mules – Idaho Gem, Utah Pioneer and the newly named Idaho Star.

The three foals were together in public for the first time at a news conference on the UI’s Moscow campus this morning. The appearance drew media attention from throughout the United States. Included at the conference was announcement of Idaho Star’s name, which was selected in a UI-sponsored naming contest geared for Idaho school children.

“We have succeeded on many fronts,” said Gordon Woods, lead scientist and UI professor of animal and veterinary sciences. “We have proven the viability and repeatability of the process we used to produce the clones. We have produced incredibly healthy animals. We have opened the door to using the horse as a model for studying age-onset diseases in humans. And we have made the science surrounding our success accessible to the general public.”

Since the announcement of Idaho Gem’s birth in late May, the scientists and the mules have been featured at numerous events, including the California State Fair in Sacramento, the Western Idaho Fair in Boise, the Eastern Idaho Fair in Blackfoot and the Sandpoint Draft Horse and Mule Show.

“We visited with literally thousands of people,” Woods said. “We answered their questions and heard their views. The response was overwhelmingly positive. We have embraced the conversation surrounding cloning – including the controversy – as a way to do what we do best: educate.

“Project Idaho has become as much a part of Idaho heritage as the Idaho potato and the Lewis and Clark expedition,” he added.

Mike Weiss, dean of the UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, agreed. “Project Idaho helped the university connect with people throughout the state, the West and the world,” he said. “We believe that students are our link to the future. An exciting project like Project Idaho helped us connect with much younger students and help them to share the excitement that science can offer.”

Weiss also said that projects like the cloning success as well as biotechnology research in areas such as biodefense and bioremediation “really represent the future of agriculture in Idaho and around the globe.”

Woods said the next steps for the Project Idaho team – Woods, UI Assistant Professor Dirk Vanderwall and Utah State Professor Ken White – include refining and focusing their ongoing research goals, including the impact of “nurture vs. nature,” and using the horse as model for studying age-onset diseases in humans such as cancer and diabetes.

The team began its first attempt at cloning in 1998 using a fetal cell culture first established at UI. A key change in its cloning protocol in 2001 pointed the way to success.

That change, an adjustment of calcium levels in the fluid holding the single-cell clones, stemmed from work by Woods, who directs the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory on the UI’s Moscow campus.

Woods first discovered the difference in calcium levels between men and stallions after he became intrigued by the difference in cancer rates between the two. Reports of stallions with prostate cancer are unknown while the incidence of prostate cancer is high in older men, particularly those on western-type diets. The change in calcium levels dramatically increased the success of the team’s equine cloning efforts.

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