Science & Technology

Chinese scientists create cloned monkeys

By T.K. Randall
January 28, 2018

Image: Japanese Macaque
Credit: Alfonsopazphoto / CC BY-SA 3.0 (adapted) The controversial achievement, which some warn has taken us one step closer to human cloning, was accomplished using the same technique used to create Dolly the Sheep back in 1996.

Researchers argue that genetically identical monkeys could prove invaluable in the development of new treatments for human diseases.

The two macaques were born two weeks apart and are believed to be doing well.

According to Professor Robin Lovell-Badge of The Francis Crick Institute in London however, the technique used to clone the monkeys remains "a very inefficient and hazardous procedure.""The work in this paper is not a stepping-stone to establishing methods for obtaining live born human clones," he said.

It is believed to have taken 127 eggs and 79 embryos to clone two live, healthy monkeys in the lab.

"We tried several different methods, but only one worked," said Qiang Sun of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Neuroscience.

"There was much failure before we found a way to successfully clone a monkey."


Source: BBC News

Tags: Cloning, Monkeys