For the first time, Chinese scientists have successfully cloned a rhesus macaque monkey that lived to adulthood, according to research published in the journal Nature Communications.
Retro, the first successful rhesus macaque clone was over two years old at the time. research Publication.
“We have successfully cloned a living, healthy rhesus macaque monkey for the first time. This is a major step forward that turns the impossible into possible. However, the efficiency is very low compared to normal fertilized embryos. Faron Lu, a researcher at the State Key Laboratory of Molecular and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, argued: CNN reported. “As of now, I have not given birth to my second child yet.” (Related: Treat: Australian company unveils giant cloned woolly mammoth meatballs)
According to , scientists first discovered “artificial embryo twinning” in sea urchins in 1885. University of Utah cloning timeline. Since then, there have been many successes and failures, including the famous Dolly the Sheep incident, which is detailed in the university's annals.
In 1996, the first mammal was successfully cloned in Scotland, and the scientists involved named her Dolly the Sheep, after famous singer Dolly Parton. University of Edinburgh. According to the University of Utah's timeline, Dolly's cloners used a technique known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). This is the process of placing somatic cells into an enucleated, unfertilized egg. According to Science Direct.
But what makes it so different from retro?
In his case, scientists replaced the placenta from a cloned embryo with one from an embryo produced through in vitro fertilization. Nature magazine reported. This method is reported to not only reduce the number of embryos and surrogate mothers required, but also significantly reduce the amount of developmental defects that often reduce the likelihood that cloned embryos will reach adulthood.
“We can produce large numbers of genetically homogeneous monkeys that can be used for drug efficacy testing,” said Mulin Pu, director of the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, according to Nature.
China has not shied away from mass-producing clones. China has been producing large numbers of cloned pigs in factories. This was reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).. BGI, a growing company, is the largest cloning site on the planet and reportedly farms approximately 500 cloned pigs each year.
“Firstly, it is possible to clone primates. And secondly, and just as importantly, such low efficiency makes it very difficult to pull off experiments like this.” Dr. Luis Montoliu of Spain's National Center for Biotechnology said in a statement, CNN reported.
He went on to say that the study shows that “human cloning is not only unnecessary and controversial, but if it were attempted it would be extremely difficult and ethically unjustifiable.” .
