Mark off June 18th on your calendar if you want to get in on the bidding to have your dog cloned.  A Northern California biotech company has announced that it will clone dogs for the five highest bidders in a series of online auctions. Some ethicists condemned the offer, fearing it could make cloning more acceptable and lead to human clones.

Opening bids start at $100,000 for the service being offered by Mill Valley-based BioArts International. The cloning process is to be performed by a South Korean scientist who suffered international disgrace after being found to have faked research.  BioArts chief executive Lou Hawthorne formerly ran Genetic Savings & Clone, which offered to clone pet cats for $50,000 but folded in 2006 because few were willing to pay so much.

When Hawthrone was asked why dogs and not cats, he replied. “The average dog owner has a different relationship with his dog than the average cat owner,” Hawthorne said. “The level of intensity on the dog side just dwarfed what we saw on the cat side.”

To conduct the clonings, BioArts has partnered with a South Korean research team that recently created three clones of Hawthorne’s family dog, Missy, who died in 2002.  The team was led by Hwang Woo-suk, who scandalized the international scientific community in 2005 when his breakthrough human cloning research involving embryonic stem cells was found to have been faked.

Tests performed at the University of California, Davis’ Veterinary Genetics Laboratory found that DNA samples taken from Missy and the three other dogs appeared to belong to the same individual.  Hawthorne said that after spending 15 years with Missy, he is taking pleasure in seeing her mischievous streak coming out in her clones. They also like steamed broccoli just like she did, he said.  Some groups that monitor advances in genetic technology argue that the company’s project, called Best Friends Again, could serve as a gateway to more unsavory practices.

Critics also have lambasted the project for its association with Hwang. Earlier this month, a researcher close to Hwang told The Associated Press that the scientist, who went into seclusion after the deception was exposed, had established a pet-cloning company in Seoul.  Hawthorne said he was wary of working with Hwang at first but said the Korean scientist had assembled the best technology and talent available. All of Hwang’s results connected to dog cloning have been independently verified, Hawthorne said.

The Korean doctor sounds a bit quacky but I have a feeling that they will be able to sell these 5 auctions because there is not doubt that many folks love their dogs more than humans.

Do you know what the best way is to cut carbs from your diet? It is simple - just substitute the high carb foods from your diet for healthy low carb alternatives. This is a very smart thing to do and you’ll benefit greatly from it. That’s what Dr. Arthur Agatston advises (he’s the author of the South Beach Diet).

The lower carb alternatives you gonna use should have identical taste as the original high carb foods. You will be very nicely surprised to find out that many of them actually taste better than the original high carb dishes.

Sandwich

You can substitute Chinese and Napa cabbage for bread. This way you eliminate 29 grams of carbs per sandwich.

Use one leaf of the cabbage and roll it up with your favorite filling and if you like you can dip it in low-fat mayo. Delicious.

Pizza

You can substitute Portobello mushroom for pizza crust. This way you eliminate 20 grams of carbs per pizza slice.

Cut the mushroom gills out and place the mushroom on an oiled cookie sheet and bake until it dries out a little. Add you favorite pizza topping (my favorite is tomato sauce, ham and sweet corn). Mmm, I got hungry

Pancakes

You can substitute Oatmeal and cottage cheese for pancake mix. This way you eliminate 45 grams of carbs per pancake.

Mix 2 eggs, cup of the cottage cheese and cup of the oatmeal. Add vanilla, nutmeg or cinnamon
(you know the benefits of cinnamon). Make the mixture smooth and cook it like you do with the regular pancakes. I am going to try this immediately.

I love fruit drinks and especially smoothies, what about do you? I’m sure everybody does, but there is something that bothers me about those drinks – their preparation time. I know that even with the fastest smoothie blender or fruit press, it could still take about 5 to 10 minutes (depending on the quantity you wanna make).

Then I thought… What if you could have your favorite fruit drink or smoothie ready in about 1 to 3 minutes? I’d be great!

This is possible if you use WonderSlim Protein Smoothies and Fruit Diet Drinks and it gets even better for you to know that those protein diet drinks are actually WonderSlim Diet meal replacements.

WonderSlim Diet Smoothies are high in protein, low in fat, and full of essential vitamins and minerals. You can enjoy their rich and creamy taste all year long, anywhere you like. As they are well balanced and nutritious you can take them instead of your regular meals or just as a quick and healthy snack.

These protein diet smoothies are the perfect solution for any busy dieter on the go who doesn’t want to sacrifice taste or nutrition and yet gets everything they need to lose weight healthy way or maintain your lost weight.
They are the ideal supplement to your WonderSlim Diet plan.

Preparation is easy – poor the contents of one packet (100 calories) into a glass, shaker cup or blender. Add 8 ounces of cold water and stir or shake vigorously until dissolved…

…Or you can use both the Berry and Strawberry Smoothies to make a frozen pudding pops like Liz (one of the many happy users of these wonderfully flavored protein diet smoothies):
She combines fresh or frozen fruits, adds plain yogurt and blends. Delicious and nutritious these could be great frozen snacks for the hot summer days.

Hello to everybody who’s been asking these particular questions for some times now:

1. Is cinnamon bad for the liver and the kidneys?

Coumarin is a chemical compound contained in Cassia (Cinnamomum aromaticum – aka Chinese Cinnamon) and is known to cause liver and kidney damage in high concentrations. True Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum – aka Ceylon Cinnamon) has negligible amounts of Coumarin, so no worries here folks as long as you use the True Cinnamon.

Coumarin toxicity is 275 mg/kg, which is relatively low compared to related chemical compounds. We humans are able to largely metabolize Coumarin to a compound that is of lower toxicity.

Also pay attention to the key phrase here “high concentrations” – half teaspoon a day is not high concentration. So if you’ve been using a half teaspoon of Cassia to prepare the drink, instead of the Ceylon Cinnamon, you don’t have to be worried, just try to find true cinnamon.

2. How long should I take it?

Important notice: You should not over use the honey and cinnamon drink, meaning you can’t use it forever.
If you reach your weight goal within a couple of weeks or a month – that’s fantastic. If you need more time, just use it for about 2 to 4 months tops.

3. Should the honey be added after half an hour (when the water cools)?

I know that in my original post I wrote to make a paste from the honey and the cinnamon powder and then to poor the hot water in the cup. However, I should agree with that the honey is better to be added after the water and cinnamon mix cools (in about half an hour).