First cloned monkeys born in China

[TaiShang]

First cloned monkeys born in China

(People's Daily) 07:30, January 25, 2018

Two cloned macaques named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua are held by a nurse at the non-human-primate research facility under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu province, Jan. 22, 2018. China on Thursday announced it successfully cloned world's first macaques from somatic cells by method that made Dolly. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Beijing (People's Daily) – Researchers in China officially made history on Wednesday when it was announced they had successfully cloned two monkeys.

Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, both female monkeys, were cloned from fetal fibroblasts, a cell found in connective tissue.

The cloning method involves removing the nucleus from a donor egg cell and replacing it with one taken out of a cell from another animal.

Somatic cells are a concept relative to germ cells. It is a type of cell whose genetic information does not pass to the next generation like germ cells.

Zhong Zhong was born on November 27, and Hua Hua was born on Christmas Day.

Both monkeys are in good health under the watchful eyes of a research team that has been working on the clone project for five years.

File photo provided by the Chinese Academy of Sciences shows two cloned macaques named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua at the non-human-primate research facility under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. China on Thursday announced it successfully cloned world's first macaques from somatic cells by method that made Dolly. (Xinhua)

Research team leader, Sun Qiang, at the Institute of Neuroscience and Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai.

Since “Dolly’ was cloned in Scotland in 1996, scientists have successfully used SCNT to clone more than 20 other species, including cows, pigs, dogs, rabbits, rats and mice.

But cloning primates had always remained elusive.

The Chinese team succeeded by using modulators to switch on or off certain genes that were inhibiting embryo development.

“After this technology matures, the future, China can also be built to nonhuman primates as a model of the main research and development base and industrial chain,” said scientist Pu Muming.

 

[baajey]

CONGRATS on having achieved this scientific milestone. today monkey, tomorrow humans.
however, in our part of south asia, we just breed like rabbits.

 

[IblinI]

CONGRATS on having achieved this scientific milestone. today monkey, tomorrow humans.
however, in our part of south asia, we just breed like rabbits.

Human is a big no, it is more than a scientific problem.

 

[Imran Khan]

Can someone clone hitler we need him as our PM

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

I'd like a few clones of myself to earn money and do other stuff. So I can chill and bang hot chicks.

 

[X.I.X]

Looks like world has witnessed another KALBUSHAN MONKEY. Looks cute just like the navy commander. LOL...

CONGRATS on having achieved this scientific milestone. today monkey, tomorrow humans.
however, in our part of south asia, we just breed like rabbits.

today we've got Kalbushan, wait for tomorrow...

 

[rott]

Very cute monkeys. Looks like Modi. LOL...

 

[Brainsucker]

I'd like a few clones of myself to earn money and do other stuff. So I can chill and bang hot chicks.

I don't think clones will act as a part of you when he / she born. He / she will just become another person that has the same traits as you. But as a life, he / she is a person like you and me. Because he / she will has his own life experience that will make him a unique individual. So after he born, he's no longer you.

 

[HannibalBarca]

I don't think clones will act as a part of you when he / she born. He / she will just become another person that has the same traits as you. But as a life, he / she is a person like you and me. Because he / she will has his own life experience that will make him a unique individual. So after he born, he's no longer you.

Clone has the same end result as Identical twins...

 

[undercover JIX]

Looks like world has witnessed another KALBUSHAN MONKEY. Looks cute just like the navy commander. LOL...


today we've got Kalbushan, wait for tomorrow...

Modi could be second...

@rott sorry, did not see your post.

 

[TaiShang]

Monkeys cloned for drug research

By ZHANG ZHIHAO | China Daily | Updated: 2018-01-26

It's feeding time for two cloned monkeys, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, at the nonhuman primate research facility at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Neuroscience in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, on Monday. Scientists there on Thursday said they successfully cloned the two with a method similar to that used to create Dolly, the sheep cloned in Scotland in 1996. JIN LIWANG / XINHUA
China has cloned two monkeys using the same method that created Dolly the sheep in Scotland, paving the way for more accurate and affordable animal testing for new drugs, scientists said on Thursday.

Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, the primates, were created using the nuclear transfer of somatic cells, an organism's nonreproductive cells, at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Neuroscience.

The duo, both born late last year, are being bottle-fed and are growing normally. Researchers said a third clone, Meng Meng, is expected late this month or early next month if everything goes smoothly.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer is the technique used by scientists in 1996 to create Dolly in Scotland. After the sheep was born, researchers cloned 23 mammal species, including cattle, cats, deer, dogs, horses, mules, oxen, rabbits and rats, according to an article published in Cell, an international science journal.

"Cloning monkeys 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," said Pu Muming, director of the neuroscience institute in Shanghai.

"For drug and other laboratory tests, scientists have to purchase monkeys from all over the world, which is costly, bad for the environment and produces inaccurate results because each monkey might have different genes.

"By cloning monkeys using somatic cells, we can mass cultivate a large number of genetically identical offspring in a short amount of time, and we can even change their genes to suit our needs," he said. "This can save time, cut down experiment costs and produce more accurate results, leading to more effective medicine."

Sun Qiang, the director of the nonhuman primate research facility at the institute, said most of the drug trials are currently done on lab mice. However, drugs that work on mice might not work or may even have severe negative side effects on humans because the two species are so different.

"Monkeys and humans are both primates, so they are much more closely related and testing on monkeys is supposed to be as effective as testing on humans," Sun said. This is especially useful in testing drugs for neural diseases such as Parkinson's disease, metabolic and immune system disease and tumors, he added.

"This achievement will help China lead world research on international science projects related to neural mapping of primate brains," Sun said. However, bio labs from the United States, Japan, and European countries also are capable, and they will quickly catch up to China after the monkey cloning technology has been made public, he said.

So far, the success rate of developing a healthy cloned embryo is extremely low. "This means we have to innovate continuously and work extra hard this year to stay ahead," Sun said.

However, ethics critics feared that the technology used to clone monkeys has opened the door to copying humans.

While the technical barrier of cloning humans has indeed been broken, "the reason we break this barrier is to produce animal models that are helpful for medical research and human health," said Pu, of the institute. "There is no intention to apply this method to humans."

 

[Kiss_of_the_Dragon]

How about clone some extincted specie such as Tasmanian tiger?

 

[24 Hours]

How about clone some extincted specie such as Tasmanian tiger?

Difficult to do so. Cloned monkeys are a huge step, but their species are alive. This one has been extinct for sometime and the closest animals too it are still quite different from it. There is a large project being done to clone wooly mammoths though.

 

[onebyone]

Why is China's macaque cloning breakthrough a win for ethics? Researchers say it'll make animal testing more ethical

https://twitter.com/x/status/956857411234607104

 

[Mirza Jatt]

I read somewhere today an article that mostly described how these monkeys suffer a painful life if they are alive. Feels bad though.