Seoul–based biotech firm RNL Bio has succeeded in cloning what it says is the world’s first puppies using fat-derived stem cells.

A company official says its research team extracted fat tissue from a beagle in October, derived adult stem cells (multipotent stem cells) from them, and developed 84 cloned embryos. The embryos were transplanted into five surrogate mothers and one of the five produced two clones, which were named Magic and Stem.

RNL said that dogs had previously been cloned from somatic cells, but that this is the first time in the world that dogs have been cloned using adipose tissue-derived (or fat-derived) stem cells.

The company expects that the finding can be used to help treat various incurable diseases, including dementia and diabetes.