Sled Dog Hero Balto: A Good Dog with Great Genes
2023-05-06
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1In 1925, a male sled dog named Balto led a 13-dog team through an extreme snowstorm during the final part of a 1,088-kilometer trip.
2The trip brought lifesaving medicine to the Alaskan city of Nome during an outbreak of the disease diphtheria.
3Sled dogs pull sleds, which are small vehicles with a flat bottom that are used for moving over snow or ice.
4Balto was celebrated as a hero. He became the subject of books and movies.
5His preserved body still stands at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the state of Ohio.
6Recently, scientists took DNA from Balto's preserved body and studied it as part of a large project called Zoonomia.
7The massive study compares genetic information in different animals and humans.
8Balto's genome, the scientists found, had certain genes that may have helped the dog deal with the extreme Alaskan environment and make it through the difficult trip.
9Balto belonged to a population of working sled dogs in Alaska.
10The population was found to have greater genetic diversity and genetic health than modern dogs.
11Diphtheria is a serious and sometimes deadly bacterial infection.
12When it spread among Nome's people, its port was blocked by ice.
13Sled dogs were the only way to get the important medicine to the city.
14Balto was one of 150 dogs that pulled sleds for parts of the 127-hour trip. During the trip, temperatures reached minus-45 degrees Celsius.
15The researchers examined Balto's genome as a part of a dataset of 682 genomes from modern dogs and their animal ancestors, the wolf.
16The research also included the genes of 240 mammals and genes from humans.
17Balto's genome showed lower rates of inbreeding than almost all modern dog breeds.
18Inbreeding is when animals are born from closely related parents.
19His genome also showed a lower rate of rare and possibly damaging genetic differences.
20Balto was found to share ancestry with breeds like modern Siberian huskies and Alaskan sled dogs.
21He also was found to share ancestry with Greenland sled dogs, Vietnamese village dogs and Tibetan mastiffs.
22There was little evidence of wolf ancestry.
23Born in 1919, Balto was part of a population of sled dogs imported from Siberia, known as Siberian huskies.
24The study showed that these dogs greatly differed from modern Siberian huskies, however.
25Balto had a body built for strength and not speed, which his breeder did not necessarily like.
26The breeder had the dog's sex organs removed so he could not be used to produce young dogs.
27Balto's life after that Alaska trip was a difficult one. He was mistreated by humans.
28Thankfully, a visiting Cleveland businessman saw Balto's mistreatment and bought the dogs for $1,500.
29The money was raised by the local community in Cleveland.
30In 1927, Balto and his dog co-runners Alaska Slim, Billy, Fox, Old Moctoc, Sye, and Tillie were celebrated in Cleveland on their arrival.
31They then spent the rest of their lives cared for at the local Brookside Zoo. Balto died of natural causes in 1933.
32Kathleen Morrill is the study's co-writer and a scientist at the biotech company Colossal Biosciences.
33She said of Balto's heroic mission, "These specialized dogs don't know that what they do has such gravity in people's lives."
34She added that the sled dogs' genetic makeup "set them up to be the best animals for the job."
35I'm Gregory Stachel
1In 1925, a male sled dog named Balto led a 13-dog team through an extreme snowstorm during the final part of a 1,088-kilometer trip. The trip brought lifesaving medicine to the Alaskan city of Nome during an outbreak of the disease diphtheria. 2Sled dogs pull sleds, which are small vehicles with a flat bottom that are used for moving over snow or ice. 3Balto was celebrated as a hero. He became the subject of books and movies. His preserved body still stands at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the state of Ohio. 4Recently, scientists took DNA from Balto's preserved body and studied it as part of a large project called Zoonomia. The massive study compares genetic information in different animals and humans. 5Balto's genome, the scientists found, had certain genes that may have helped the dog deal with the extreme Alaskan environment and make it through the difficult trip. 6Balto belonged to a population of working sled dogs in Alaska. The population was found to have greater genetic diversity and genetic health than modern dogs. 7Diphtheria is a serious and sometimes deadly bacterial infection. When it spread among Nome's people, its port was blocked by ice. Sled dogs were the only way to get the important medicine to the city. 8Balto was one of 150 dogs that pulled sleds for parts of the 127-hour trip. During the trip, temperatures reached minus-45 degrees Celsius. 9The researchers examined Balto's genome as a part of a dataset of 682 genomes from modern dogs and their animal ancestors, the wolf. The research also included the genes of 240 mammals and genes from humans. 10Balto's genome showed lower rates of inbreeding than almost all modern dog breeds. Inbreeding is when animals are born from closely related parents. His genome also showed a lower rate of rare and possibly damaging genetic differences. 11Balto was found to share ancestry with breeds like modern Siberian huskies and Alaskan sled dogs. He also was found to share ancestry with Greenland sled dogs, Vietnamese village dogs and Tibetan mastiffs. There was little evidence of wolf ancestry. 12Born in 1919, Balto was part of a population of sled dogs imported from Siberia, known as Siberian huskies. The study showed that these dogs greatly differed from modern Siberian huskies, however. Balto had a body built for strength and not speed, which his breeder did not necessarily like. The breeder had the dog's sex organs removed so he could not be used to produce young dogs. 13Balto's life after that Alaska trip was a difficult one. He was mistreated by humans. Thankfully, a visiting Cleveland businessman saw Balto's mistreatment and bought the dogs for $1,500. The money was raised by the local community in Cleveland. 14In 1927, Balto and his dog co-runners Alaska Slim, Billy, Fox, Old Moctoc, Sye, and Tillie were celebrated in Cleveland on their arrival. They then spent the rest of their lives cared for at the local Brookside Zoo. Balto died of natural causes in 1933. 15Kathleen Morrill is the study's co-writer and a scientist at the biotech company Colossal Biosciences. She said of Balto's heroic mission, "These specialized dogs don't know that what they do has such gravity in people's lives." 16She added that the sled dogs' genetic makeup "set them up to be the best animals for the job." 17I'm Gregory Stachel 18Will Dunham reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 19__________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21preserve v. to keep (something) in its original state or in good condition 22diversity - n. the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc. 23mammal - n. a type of animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair or fur covering most of its skin 24gravity - n. extreme importance; a very serious quality or condition 25__________________________________________________________________ 26What do you think of this story? 27We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.