Monkey Clones Created
Two Monkeys macaques – named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua. were born eight and six weeks ago. at a laboratory in China. It represents the furthest best cloning technology. they are so similar to each other.
But they are the first to be produced using the single cell nuclear transfer technique.
Now this technique will allow researchers to create more.
It took 21 surrogate monkeys, which had only six successful pregnancies. for the two cloned monkeys to be born. Another pair created from the DNA of a live adult failed to survive.because I thought it would never happen,” says Shaukat. the head of Oregon Health and Science University’s Center for Embryonic Cell and Gene Therapy. Somatic cell nuclear transfer involves delicately transferring the nucleus from one animal’s cell into another animal’s egg.
The full process isn’t as simple as plucking a nucleus out of a skin cell. plugging it into an egg. expecting it to form a flawless clone.
So that only specific genes are expressed within any given cell type. It’s a bit like reading a choose-your-own-adventure book. settling on a particular plot you like. and gluing together.
The cloning is contentious. Animal-welfare groups have cast experiments. The experiments are going on animals similar to human. pointing to miscarriages, sterile social environments.
“With all this improvement. along with the high standards of ethical concerns. I think that Chinese society will accept this.” says Poo. I hope that societies in Western countries will realize.that once we demonstrate the cloned monkeys’ usefulness in curing disease. they will gradually change their mind.
