Chinese scientists have broken a technical barrier that increases the potential for human clones by successfully cloning a pair of monkeys. These scientists implemented the same techniques used to create Dolly the sheep over two decades ago. The pair of identical long-tailed macaques, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, were born six and eight weeks ago. Their entrance into the world represents the first time primates have been cloned from a non-embryonic cell. This feat was achieved through a process known as somatic cell nuclear transfer. This procedure entails the transfer of a cell’s nucleus, DNA included, into an egg that has had its nucleus removed.
See Reuters, Chinese Scientists Clone Two Monkeys, Humans May Be Next, Newsweek, January 25, 2018.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.) for bringing this article to my attention.
