Cloned monkeys borned in Chinese lab

Cloned monkeys borned in Chinese lab

The Institute of Neuroscience of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced the completion of the world's first somatic cell clone monkey On 25th Jan.

The Institute of Neuroscience of the Chinese Academy of Sciences had created two clone macaques named "Zhong Zhong" and "Hua Hua" by nuclear transferring of somatic cells.China became the first country to clone a monkey using non-reproductive cells.

As we known,Cloning a monkey using somatic cells has been a world-class challenge because it is a primate that shares its genetic makeup, therefore all of its complexity, with humans.

Chinese scientists is the first time cloned monkeys using the same technique that produced Dolly (the sheep) two decades ago, breaking a technical barrier that could open the door to copying humans.

By cloning monkey using somatic cells, we can mass cultivate large number of genetically identical offspring in a short amount of time, and we can even change their genes to suit our needs. This can reduce the need to breed lab monkeys and paving the way for more accurate, effective, and affordable animal tests for new drugs."

This achievement will help China lead the world research in an international science projects related to neural mapping of primate brains.

However, bio labs from the United States, Japan, and European countries are also very capable, and they will quickly catch up to China after the monkey cloning technology is made public.This means we have to innovate continuously and work extra harder this year to stay ahead.