Golden hamster stock of hamsters was exported from Syria to the United States in 1971, but apparently none of today's North American pets is descended from these (at least in the female line), because recent mitochondrial DNA studies have established that all domestic golden hamsters are descended from one female – probably the one captured in 1930 in Syria. Since the species was named, the genus "Cricetus" has been subdivided and this species (together with several others) was separated into the genus "Mesocricetus", leading to the currently accepted scientific name for the golden hamster of "Mesocricetus auratus". Following Professor Aharoni's collection in
Country-of-origin effect Country-of-origin effect The country-of-origin effect (COE), also known as the made-in image and the nationality bias, is a psychological effect describing how consumers' attitudes, perceptions and purchasing decisions are influenced by products' country of origin labeling. Since 1965, it has been extensively studied by researchers. Country of origin labelling originated in 1887 when the British government, in an effort to reduce sales of German and other non-English products to English consumers, passed a law requiring products manufactured outside England to be labeled with their country of origin. In the United States, the labeling of garments came into law under the