Chinese researchers have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) using an innovative technique that addresses common developmental defects observed in cloned embryos.&nbsp;Notably, rhesus monkeys are phylogenetically close to humans, sharing about 93 per cent of their DNA and this makes them valuable models for studying human physiology, anatomy, and diseases. The new method is different from what was used to clone&nbsp;Dolly the sheep. The monkey, named ReTro, is now over two years of age, marking a&nbsp;milestone in primate cloning.

For the first time, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai have achieved successful cloning of a rhesus monkey using a modified cloning approach that involved replacing the placenta, which plays a crucial role in supporting the growth and development of the fetus, of the cloned embryo with a placenta from embryos produced by in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).

By doing so, the scientists reduced developmental defects that typically hinder the survival of cloned embryos, ultimately leading to the first successful cloning of the species.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/a-joint-cicada-explosion-is-happening-after-221-years-and-wont-occur-again-for-over-400-years-680695">Big Bug Bang: US to see 'double cicada explosion' that won't happen for next 400 years</a>

The conventional cloning technique, known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), has historically resulted in low birth and survival rates for cloned embryos, especially in primates. This is the technique used to clone Dolly the sheep and other mammals.&nbsp;

Previous attempts to clone long-tailed macaques in 2018 yielded only two surviving monkeys out of 109 cloned embryos. In 2022, a rhesus monkey cloned using SCNT survived for less than 12 hours.

<h2>What was the obstacle?&nbsp;</h2>

The researchers found that the placentas were not reprogrammed during the cloning process resulting in abnormal development. To overcome this issue, instead of using&nbsp;the entire cloned embryo, including the part that forms the placenta, which is the outer layer, scientists extracted the inner cells, which contribute to the animal's body development, and introduced them into a non-cloned outer embryo.

This innovative technique was designed to encourage the development of a normal placenta. This resulted in the creation of a "natural placenta" while maintaining the cloned nature of the fetus.

Also Read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/tibet-may-be-splitting-apart-due-to-colossal-tectonic-collision-underneath-himalayas-680676">Tibet may be splitting apart due to colossal tectonic collision underneath Himalayas</a>

The researchers successfully implanted 11 cloned rhesus monkey embryos into seven surrogates, resulting in two pregnancies.&nbsp;One of the surrogates gave birth to ReTro, a healthy male rhesus monkey that has thrived for more than two years. However, challenges remain in improving the cloning process.

Watch |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/dopamine-dressing-fashion-fad-or-need-of-the-hour-680790">'Dopamine Dressing,' fashion fad or need of the hour?</a>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/dopamine-dressing-fashion-fad-or-need-of-the-hour-680790/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Lluís Montoliu, a geneticist at the Spanish National Center for Biotechnology, reportedly&nbsp;emphasised the difficulty of achieving success with such low efficiencies in cloning experiments.

Scientists envision using cloned monkeys for drug testing and behavioural research, aiming to reduce the number of animals used in experiments and eliminate genetic background interference.

(With inputs from agencies)

Chinese researchers have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) using an innovative technique that addresses common developmental defects observed in cloned embryos.

Chinese researchers have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) using an innovative technique that addresses common developmental defects observed in cloned embryos. Notably, rhesus monkeys are phylogenetically close to humans, sharing about 93 per cent of their DNA and this makes them valuable models for studying human physiology, anatomy, and diseases. The new method is different from what was used to clone Dolly the sheep. The monkey, named ReTro, is now over two years of age, marking a milestone in primate cloning. For the first time, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai have achieved successful cloning of a rhesus monkey using a modified cloning approach that involved replacing the placenta, which plays a crucial role in supporting the growth and development of the fetus, of the cloned embryo with a placenta from embryos produced by in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). By doing so, the scientists reduced developmental defects that typically hinder the survival of cloned embryos, ultimately leading to the first successful cloning of the species. Also Read | Big Bug Bang: US to see 'double cicada explosion' that won't happen for next 400 years The conventional cloning technique, known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), has historically resulted in low birth and survival rates for cloned embryos, especially in primates. This is the technique used to clone Dolly the sheep and other mammals. Previous attempts to clone long-tailed macaques in 2018 yielded only two surviving monkeys out of 109 cloned embryos. In 2022, a rhesus monkey cloned using SCNT survived for less than 12 hours. What was the obstacle? The researchers found that the placentas were not reprogrammed during the cloning process resulting in abnormal development. To overcome this issue, instead of using the entire cloned embryo, including the part that forms the placenta, which is the outer layer, scientists extracted the inner cells, which contribute to the animal's body development, and introduced them into a non-cloned outer embryo. This innovative technique was designed to encourage the development of a normal placenta. This resulted in the creation of a "natural placenta" while maintaining the cloned nature of the fetus. Also Read | Tibet may be splitting apart due to colossal tectonic collision underneath Himalayas The researchers successfully implanted 11 cloned rhesus monkey embryos into seven surrogates, resulting in two pregnancies. One of the surrogates gave birth to ReTro, a healthy male rhesus monkey that has thrived for more than two years. However, challenges remain in improving the cloning process. Watch | 'Dopamine Dressing,' fashion fad or need of the hour? × Lluís Montoliu, a geneticist at the Spanish National Center for Biotechnology, reportedly emphasised the difficulty of achieving success with such low efficiencies in cloning experiments. Scientists envision using cloned monkeys for drug testing and behavioural research, aiming to reduce the number of animals used in experiments and eliminate genetic background interference. (With inputs from agencies)

Rhesus monkey cloned using new technique different from what was used for Dolly the sheep

British scientist Ian Wilmut, whose work was central to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned, has died at the age of 79. The news of his death was announced by University of Edinburgh on Monday (September 11). Wilmut worked at the university.

He died on Sunday. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease many years ago.

Wilmut, along with Keith Campbell animal sciences research institute in Scotland shot to worldwide fame when creation of Dolly the Sheep generated news headlines and ethical debates in the year 1996.

"He led efforts to develop cloning, or nuclear transfer, techniques that could be used to make genetically modified sheep. It was these efforts which led to the births of Megan and Morag in 1995 and Dolly in 1996," the university said in a statement.

Dolly, named after country singer Dolly Parton, was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, using a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT).

<img alt="Dolly the sheep" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d59b567d-adc3-477d-85a3-349449d8ef7c" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/2023-09-11T161734Z_2_LYNXMPEJ8A0MH_RTROPTP_4_SCIENCE-CLONING-DOLLY.JPG" />

The process involved taking a sheep egg, removal of its DNA and its replacement with DNA from a frozen udder cell of a sheep that died years before. The egg was then zapped with electricity to make it grow like a fertilised embryo. No sperm was required.

The breakthrough, though scientifically fascinating, started ethical debate and triggered fears of human cloning or producing copies of living or dead people. Mainstream scientists have ruled this out as being far too dangerous.

Wilmut was born near Stratford-upon-Avon. He attended University of Nottingham. He initially planned to study agriculture before switching to animal science.

He moved to University of Edinburgh in 2005 and retired in 2012. He received a knighthood in 2008.

Peter Mathieson, the vice-chancellor of Edinburgh University, hailed Wilmut as "a titan of the scientific world" whose work cloning Dolly "transformed scientific thinking at the time".

"This breakthrough continues to fuel many of the advances that have been made in the field of regenerative medicine that we see today," he said in a statement.

Bruce Whitelaw, the current head of the Roslin Institute, described Wilmut's passing as "sad news".

"Science has lost a household name," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

British scientist Ian Wilmut, whose work was central to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned, has died at the age of 79. The news of his death was announced by University of Edinburgh on Monday (September 11).

British scientist Ian Wilmut, whose work was central to the creation of Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned, has died at the age of 79. The news of his death was announced by University of Edinburgh on Monday (September 11). Wilmut worked at the university. He died on Sunday. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease many years ago. Wilmut, along with Keith Campbell animal sciences research institute in Scotland shot to worldwide fame when creation of Dolly the Sheep generated news headlines and ethical debates in the year 1996. "He led efforts to develop cloning, or nuclear transfer, techniques that could be used to make genetically modified sheep. It was these efforts which led to the births of Megan and Morag in 1995 and Dolly in 1996," the university said in a statement. Dolly, named after country singer Dolly Parton, was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell, using a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). The process involved taking a sheep egg, removal of its DNA and its replacement with DNA from a frozen udder cell of a sheep that died years before. The egg was then zapped with electricity to make it grow like a fertilised embryo. No sperm was required. The breakthrough, though scientifically fascinating, started ethical debate and triggered fears of human cloning or producing copies of living or dead people. Mainstream scientists have ruled this out as being far too dangerous. Wilmut was born near Stratford-upon-Avon. He attended University of Nottingham. He initially planned to study agriculture before switching to animal science. He moved to University of Edinburgh in 2005 and retired in 2012. He received a knighthood in 2008. Peter Mathieson, the vice-chancellor of Edinburgh University, hailed Wilmut as "a titan of the scientific world" whose work cloning Dolly "transformed scientific thinking at the time". "This breakthrough continues to fuel many of the advances that have been made in the field of regenerative medicine that we see today," he said in a statement. Bruce Whitelaw, the current head of the Roslin Institute, described Wilmut's passing as "sad news". "Science has lost a household name," he added. (With inputs from agencies) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Ian Wilmut, the scientist who created first cloned mammal Dolly the Sheep, passes away

The voice on the phone seemed frighteningly real – an American mother heard her daughter sobbing before a man took over and demanded a ransom. But the girl was an AI clone and the abduction was fake.

The biggest peril of Artificial Intelligence, experts say, is its ability to demolish the boundaries between reality and fiction, handing cybercriminals a cheap and effective technology to propagate disinformation.

In a new breed of scams that has rattled US authorities, fraudsters are using strikingly convincing AI voice cloning tools – widely available online – to steal from people by impersonating family members.

"Help me, mom, please help me," Jennifer DeStefano, an Arizona-based mother, heard a voice saying on the other end of the line.

DeStefano was "100 per cent" convinced it was her 15-year-old daughter in deep distress while away on a skiing trip.

"It was never a question of who is this? It was completely her voice... it was the way she would have cried," DeStefano told a local television station in April.

"I never doubted for one second it was her."

The scammer who took over the call, which came from a number unfamiliar to DeStefano, demanded up to $1 million.&nbsp;

The AI-powered ruse was over within minutes when DeStefano established contact with her daughter. But the terrifying case, now under police investigation, underscored the potential for cybercriminals to misuse AI clones.

<h2>Grandparent scam</h2>

"AI voice cloning, now almost indistinguishable from human speech, allows threat actors like scammers to extract information and funds from victims more effectively," Wasim Khaled, chief executive of Blackbird.AI, told AFP.

A simple internet search yields a wide array of apps, many available for free, to create AI voices with a small sample -- sometimes only a few seconds -- of a person's real voice that can be easily stolen from content posted online.

"With a small audio sample, an AI voice clone can be used to leave voicemails and voice texts. It can even be used as a live voice changer on phone calls," Khaled said.

"Scammers can employ different accents, genders, or even mimic the speech patterns of loved ones. [The technology] allows for the creation of convincing deep fakes."

In a global survey of 7,000 people from nine countries, including the United States, one in four people said they had experienced an AI voice cloning scam or knew someone who had.

Seventy per cent of the respondents said they were not confident they could "tell the difference between a cloned voice and the real thing," said the survey, published last month by the US-based McAfee Labs.

American officials have warned of a rise in what is popularly known as the "grandparent scam" -– where an imposter poses as a grandchild in urgent need of money in a distressful situation.

"You get a call. There's a panicked voice on the line. It's your grandson. He says he's in deep trouble —- he wrecked the car and landed in jail. But you can help by sending money," the US Federal Trade Commission said in a warning in March.

"It sounds just like him. How could it be a scam? Voice cloning, that's how."

In the comments beneath the FTC's warning were multiple testimonies of elderly people who had been duped that way.

<h2>'Malicious'</h2>

That also mirrors the experience of Eddie, a 19-year-old in Chicago whose grandfather received a call from someone who sounded just like him, claiming he needed money after a car accident.

The ruse, reported by McAfee Labs, was so convincing that his grandfather urgently started scrounging together money and even considered re-mortgaging his house, before the lie was discovered.

"Because it is now easy to generate highly realistic voice clones... nearly anyone with any online presence is vulnerable to an attack," Hany Farid, a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information, told AFP.

"These scams are gaining traction and spreading."

Earlier this year, AI startup ElevenLabs admitted that its voice cloning tool could be misused for "malicious purposes" after users posted a deepfake audio purporting to be actor Emma Watson reading Adolf Hitler's biography "Mein Kampf."

"We're fast approaching the point where you can't trust the things that you see on the internet," Gal Tal-Hochberg, group chief technology officer at the venture capital firm Team8, told AFP.

"We are going to need new technology to know if the person you think you're talking to is actually the person you're talking to," he said. 
&nbsp;

The voice on the phone seemed frighteningly real – an American mother heard her daughter sobbing before a man took over and demanded a ransom. But the girl was an AI clone and the abduction was fake.

The voice on the phone seemed frighteningly real – an American mother heard her daughter sobbing before a man took over and demanded a ransom. But the girl was an AI clone and the abduction was fake. The biggest peril of Artificial Intelligence, experts say, is its ability to demolish the boundaries between reality and fiction, handing cybercriminals a cheap and effective technology to propagate disinformation. In a new breed of scams that has rattled US authorities, fraudsters are using strikingly convincing AI voice cloning tools – widely available online – to steal from people by impersonating family members. "Help me, mom, please help me," Jennifer DeStefano, an Arizona-based mother, heard a voice saying on the other end of the line. DeStefano was "100 per cent" convinced it was her 15-year-old daughter in deep distress while away on a skiing trip. "It was never a question of who is this? It was completely her voice... it was the way she would have cried," DeStefano told a local television station in April. "I never doubted for one second it was her." The scammer who took over the call, which came from a number unfamiliar to DeStefano, demanded up to $1 million. The AI-powered ruse was over within minutes when DeStefano established contact with her daughter. But the terrifying case, now under police investigation, underscored the potential for cybercriminals to misuse AI clones. Grandparent scam "AI voice cloning, now almost indistinguishable from human speech, allows threat actors like scammers to extract information and funds from victims more effectively," Wasim Khaled, chief executive of Blackbird.AI, told AFP. A simple internet search yields a wide array of apps, many available for free, to create AI voices with a small sample -- sometimes only a few seconds -- of a person's real voice that can be easily stolen from content posted online. "With a small audio sample, an AI voice clone can be used to leave voicemails and voice texts. It can even be used as a live voice changer on phone calls," Khaled said. "Scammers can employ different accents, genders, or even mimic the speech patterns of loved ones. [The technology] allows for the creation of convincing deep fakes." In a global survey of 7,000 people from nine countries, including the United States, one in four people said they had experienced an AI voice cloning scam or knew someone who had. Seventy per cent of the respondents said they were not confident they could "tell the difference between a cloned voice and the real thing," said the survey, published last month by the US-based McAfee Labs. American officials have warned of a rise in what is popularly known as the "grandparent scam" -– where an imposter poses as a grandchild in urgent need of money in a distressful situation. "You get a call. There's a panicked voice on the line. It's your grandson. He says he's in deep trouble —- he wrecked the car and landed in jail. But you can help by sending money," the US Federal Trade Commission said in a warning in March. "It sounds just like him. How could it be a scam? Voice cloning, that's how." In the comments beneath the FTC's warning were multiple testimonies of elderly people who had been duped that way. 'Malicious' That also mirrors the experience of Eddie, a 19-year-old in Chicago whose grandfather received a call from someone who sounded just like him, claiming he needed money after a car accident. The ruse, reported by McAfee Labs, was so convincing that his grandfather urgently started scrounging together money and even considered re-mortgaging his house, before the lie was discovered. "Because it is now easy to generate highly realistic voice clones... nearly anyone with any online presence is vulnerable to an attack," Hany Farid, a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Information, told AFP. "These scams are gaining traction and spreading." Earlier this year, AI startup ElevenLabs admitted that its voice cloning tool could be misused for "malicious purposes" after users posted a deepfake audio purporting to be actor Emma Watson reading Adolf Hitler's biography "Mein Kampf." "We're fast approaching the point where you can't trust the things that you see on the internet," Gal Tal-Hochberg, group chief technology officer at the venture capital firm Team8, told AFP. "We are going to need new technology to know if the person you think you're talking to is actually the person you're talking to," he said.

Can you trust your ears? AI voice scams rattle US

The cloning of pets is a controversial topic. We all know how attached one can get to one’s fur baby, and their short lives are the worst thing about owning a pet. Losing a pet is by far the worst thing about it.

Despite the controversy, the cloning of pets is growing in popularity. In the US, Viagen Pets and Equine is the first commercial cloning of cats and dogs, and they charge a lot!

The charges for cloning are $50,000 for a dog, $30,000 for a cat, and $85,000 for a horse and the company has&nbsp;cloned hundreds since it first opened in 2015.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/why-do-some-humans-love-booze-this-study-on-monkeys-might-give-some-answers-468050" hreflang="en">Why do some humans love booze? This study on monkeys might give answers</a>

Such a high cost is obviously not affordable for the common man, which might be the reason that most of the firm’s clients are celebrities.

Barbra Streisand in 2018 disclosed that she had two puppies cloned from her former pet Samantha.

The same year it was reported that media mogul Simon Cowell was also planning on cloning his three Yorkshire terriers.

Now on to how the cloning happens.

There are a number of techniques, but generally, it is done using a cell nucleus from the animal that is to be cloned, which is then injected into a donor egg. The egg is then grown in a laboratory and then transferred into an embryo. This is then planted into the uterus of a surrogate mother.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/scientists-discover-ice-volcanoes-on-dwarf-planet-pluto-466822" hreflang="en">Scientists discover ice volcanoes on dwarf-planet Pluto</a>

According to Viagen's president, Blake Russell, the genetic material of the animal you want to clone can be kept virtually indefinitely before the cloning process.&nbsp;

This is due to the use of cryopreservation or freezing at extremely low temperatures.

"A cloned pet is, simply put, an identical genetic twin, separated by years, decades, perhaps centuries," he adds. 
Animal welfare organisations, on the other hand, have serious reservations about the industry. &nbsp;A number of scientific investigations, for example, have revealed that cloned animals are more susceptible to disease.

Others criticise the industry's high failure rate, citing the enormous number of clones that are not born healthy and fit. According to a survey published by Columbia University in New York in 2018, the average success rate is only 20 per cent. To allow for several attempts, you'll need a large number of surrogate mothers.

Watch |&nbsp;Bangladesh: Constable harassing woman for wearing bindi identified and charged

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/bangladesh-constable-harassing-woman-for-wearing-bindi-identified-and-charged-468427/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

According to Penny Hawkins, an animal welfare expert at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, it can be unpleasant and distressing for female animals who have their eggs taken for donation and those who are preparing for surrogate pregnancy.

Additionally, a cloned pet can never be the exact copy of your pet.

Even a Viagen official was quoted last year as saying that an animal's upbringing or nurture accounts for 25 per cent&nbsp;of its personality.

Other experts also point at the huge number of animals in shelters waiting to be adopted and comment that wasting thousands of dollars on cloning is nothing short of wasteful. Others counter that this same logic can be applied to human children and comment that “why even have kids just adopt”.

(With inputs from agencies)

The cloning of pets is a controversial topic. We all know how attached one can get to one’s fur baby, and their short lives are the worst thing about owning a pet.

The cloning of pets is a controversial topic. We all know how attached one can get to one’s fur baby, and their short lives are the worst thing about owning a pet. Losing a pet is by far the worst thing about it. Despite the controversy, the cloning of pets is growing in popularity. In the US, Viagen Pets and Equine is the first commercial cloning of cats and dogs, and they charge a lot! The charges for cloning are $50,000 for a dog, $30,000 for a cat, and $85,000 for a horse and the company has cloned hundreds since it first opened in 2015. Also read | Why do some humans love booze? This study on monkeys might give answers Such a high cost is obviously not affordable for the common man, which might be the reason that most of the firm’s clients are celebrities. Barbra Streisand in 2018 disclosed that she had two puppies cloned from her former pet Samantha. The same year it was reported that media mogul Simon Cowell was also planning on cloning his three Yorkshire terriers. Now on to how the cloning happens. There are a number of techniques, but generally, it is done using a cell nucleus from the animal that is to be cloned, which is then injected into a donor egg. The egg is then grown in a laboratory and then transferred into an embryo. This is then planted into the uterus of a surrogate mother. Also read | Scientists discover ice volcanoes on dwarf-planet Pluto According to Viagen's president, Blake Russell, the genetic material of the animal you want to clone can be kept virtually indefinitely before the cloning process. This is due to the use of cryopreservation or freezing at extremely low temperatures. "A cloned pet is, simply put, an identical genetic twin, separated by years, decades, perhaps centuries," he adds. Animal welfare organisations, on the other hand, have serious reservations about the industry. A number of scientific investigations, for example, have revealed that cloned animals are more susceptible to disease. Others criticise the industry's high failure rate, citing the enormous number of clones that are not born healthy and fit. According to a survey published by Columbia University in New York in 2018, the average success rate is only 20 per cent. To allow for several attempts, you'll need a large number of surrogate mothers. Watch | Bangladesh: Constable harassing woman for wearing bindi identified and charged According to Penny Hawkins, an animal welfare expert at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, it can be unpleasant and distressing for female animals who have their eggs taken for donation and those who are preparing for surrogate pregnancy. Additionally, a cloned pet can never be the exact copy of your pet. Even a Viagen official was quoted last year as saying that an animal's upbringing or nurture accounts for 25 per cent of its personality. Other experts also point at the huge number of animals in shelters waiting to be adopted and comment that wasting thousands of dollars on cloning is nothing short of wasteful. Others counter that this same logic can be applied to human children and comment that “why even have kids just adopt”. (With inputs from agencies)

Cloning pets is all the rage, and it can cost thousands of dollars. Here's how it works

A Californian couple was so heartbroken to say goodbye to their dog that they cloned him.

Alicia and David Tschirhart believed&nbsp;that their dog Marley was&nbsp;perfect. And to keep a part of him&nbsp;alive they cloned him.&nbsp;

They named his clone Ziggy.

Watch: Wipe those paws - dogs groomed at NY's Westminster Show

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/wipe-those-paws-dogs-groomed-at-nys-westminster-show-280127/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

His resemblance to Marley&nbsp;is uncanny,&nbsp; the Californian couple says.

"They have the same personality, they play the same, they favour the same toys," Alicia said.

The cloning process for Marley was done through ViaGen Pets, the couple said.

Watch: 5000 fans watch dogs wearing socks compete in World Series sled marathon

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/5000-fans-watch-dogs-wearing-socks-compete-in-world-series-sled-marathon-277150/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The company lists the price at a steep $50,000.

The Tschirhart's, who dwell in Escondido, said that it was a small price to pay as Marley had saved Alicia's life once when she was four months pregnant.

According to the couple, he&nbsp;later was diagnosed with cancer and died about five years ago.

Now, the couple said&nbsp;their children will have more than just a memory of Marley to grow up with.

"I just couldn't think of any better way to do that. To have, you know, their years growing up to have Ziggy around," David said.

A Californian couple was so heartbroken to say goodbye to their dog that they cloned him. Alicia and David Tschirhart believed that their dog Marley was perfect.

A Californian couple was so heartbroken to say goodbye to their dog that they cloned him. Alicia and David Tschirhart believed that their dog Marley was perfect. And to keep a part of him alive they cloned him. They named his clone Ziggy. Watch: Wipe those paws - dogs groomed at NY's Westminster Show His resemblance to Marley is uncanny, the Californian couple says. "They have the same personality, they play the same, they favour the same toys," Alicia said. The cloning process for Marley was done through ViaGen Pets, the couple said. Watch: 5000 fans watch dogs wearing socks compete in World Series sled marathon The company lists the price at a steep $50,000. The Tschirhart's, who dwell in Escondido, said that it was a small price to pay as Marley had saved Alicia's life once when she was four months pregnant. According to the couple, he later was diagnosed with cancer and died about five years ago. Now, the couple said their children will have more than just a memory of Marley to grow up with. "I just couldn't think of any better way to do that. To have, you know, their years growing up to have Ziggy around," David said.

Californian couple clone their dog for $50,000 after its demise

Two decades after Scotland&#39;s Dolly, the sheep, became the first cloned mammal, consumers may well wonder whether they are drinking milk or eating meat from cookie-cutter cows or their offspring. 
 
The simple answer: &quot;probably&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
The fact is, there is no way to know for sure, say experts, even in Europe, which has come closer to banning livestock cloning than anywhere else in the world. 
 
With the possible exception of the ram sacrificed by Abraham in the Bible, Dolly must be the world&#39;s most famous sheep.&nbsp;The ewe&#39;s birth in an Edinburgh laboratory on July 5, 1996 was front-page news, provoking hype and hand-wringing in equal parts.&nbsp; 
 
For the most part, cloning turned out to be a dead end. 
 
But there is one sector in which Dolly&#39;s legacy is alive and well: the duplication of prize breeding animals. 
 
How aggressively the private sector has developed this niche market has depended in a large part on national or regional regulations, with key differences between the United States, China and the European Union.&quot;The most dramatic impact of the cloning of Dolly has been on animal cloning in the United States,&quot; said Aaron Levine, an expert in bioethics and cloning at Georgia Tech. 
 
In 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration concluded that &quot;food from cattle, swine and goat clones is as safe to eat as food from any other cattle, swine or goat&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
&#39;Cloned animals are not intended to enter food supply directly&#39; 
 
Not even scientists can distinguish a healthy clone from a conventionally bred animal, the regulatory agency said. 
 
There are no requirements to label meat or milk from a cloned animal or its offspring, whether sold domestically or abroad. 
 
For the industry, the aim was never to set up assembly-line production -- cloning is difficult and expensive at more than 10,000 Euros ($11,000) a pop, and the success rate low, with few clones surviving to birth. 
 
So the focus, instead, is on copying genetically outstanding specimens so they may naturally sire exceptional progeny. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s fairly widespread in US to use cloning to produce breeding stock,&quot; said Levine. &quot;Cloned animals are not intended to enter the food supply directly.&quot; 
 
&quot;I suspect some may have,&quot; he added. 
 
US companies typically produce hundreds or few thousand clones per year&nbsp; 
 
Among the leaders in commercial livestock cloning in the US are Cyagra, based in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and ViaGen, in Austin, Texas. 
 
At least one company, ViaGen, also provides services for copying cherished cats and dogs. US companies typically produce hundreds or a few thousand clones per year. 
 
The Boyalife Group&#39;s cloning new factory near the northern coastal city of Tianjin in China, however, is aiming for an annual output of 100,000 cows this year, scaling up to a million by 2020. 
 
Also in the pipeline are thoroughbred racehorses, pets and police dogs specialised in searching and sniffing. 
 
Boyalife has said it is working with South Korean partner Sooam and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to improve primate cloning technology, to create better test animals for human disease research. 
 
And in December, Boyalife&#39;s lead scientist and chief executive Xu Xiaochun, said he would not shy away from cloning humans if regulations allowed it. Faced with strong public opinion against cloning of any kind, the European Union does not allow the practice in animal husbandry. 
 
But officials acknowledge that meat or milk derived from cows with a cloned ancestor may very well have made its way into the market, whether directly imported, obtained from a live imported animal, or one bred domestically from genetic material brought into the EU. 
 
&quot;Without knowing it, Europeans are probably eating meat from the descendents of clones that cannot be traced,&quot; said Pauline Constant, spokeswoman for the European Office of consumer associations, based in Brussels. 
 
Officials say they are not concerned about any impact on human health. 
 
In September, the European Parliament called, by a large majority, not only for a ban on cloned animals, but also on products derived from them.&nbsp; 
 
The final decision rests with the European Commission, which has taken a less hard-line position.&nbsp; 
 
Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Australia are among the other countries which clone livestock. 
 
(AFP)

'Not even scientists can distinguish a healthy clone from a conventionally bred animal'

Two decades after Scotland's Dolly, the sheep, became the first cloned mammal, consumers may well wonder whether they are drinking milk or eating meat from cookie-cutter cows or their offspring. The simple answer: "probably". The fact is, there is no way to know for sure, say experts, even in Europe, which has come closer to banning livestock cloning than anywhere else in the world. With the possible exception of the ram sacrificed by Abraham in the Bible, Dolly must be the world's most famous sheep. The ewe's birth in an Edinburgh laboratory on July 5, 1996 was front-page news, provoking hype and hand-wringing in equal parts. For the most part, cloning turned out to be a dead end. But there is one sector in which Dolly's legacy is alive and well: the duplication of prize breeding animals. How aggressively the private sector has developed this niche market has depended in a large part on national or regional regulations, with key differences between the United States, China and the European Union."The most dramatic impact of the cloning of Dolly has been on animal cloning in the United States," said Aaron Levine, an expert in bioethics and cloning at Georgia Tech. In 2008, the US Food and Drug Administration concluded that "food from cattle, swine and goat clones is as safe to eat as food from any other cattle, swine or goat". 'Cloned animals are not intended to enter food supply directly' Not even scientists can distinguish a healthy clone from a conventionally bred animal, the regulatory agency said. There are no requirements to label meat or milk from a cloned animal or its offspring, whether sold domestically or abroad. For the industry, the aim was never to set up assembly-line production -- cloning is difficult and expensive at more than 10,000 Euros ($11,000) a pop, and the success rate low, with few clones surviving to birth. So the focus, instead, is on copying genetically outstanding specimens so they may naturally sire exceptional progeny. "It's fairly widespread in US to use cloning to produce breeding stock," said Levine. "Cloned animals are not intended to enter the food supply directly." "I suspect some may have," he added. US companies typically produce hundreds or few thousand clones per year Among the leaders in commercial livestock cloning in the US are Cyagra, based in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, and ViaGen, in Austin, Texas. At least one company, ViaGen, also provides services for copying cherished cats and dogs. US companies typically produce hundreds or a few thousand clones per year. The Boyalife Group's cloning new factory near the northern coastal city of Tianjin in China, however, is aiming for an annual output of 100,000 cows this year, scaling up to a million by 2020. Also in the pipeline are thoroughbred racehorses, pets and police dogs specialised in searching and sniffing. Boyalife has said it is working with South Korean partner Sooam and the Chinese Academy of Sciences to improve primate cloning technology, to create better test animals for human disease research. And in December, Boyalife's lead scientist and chief executive Xu Xiaochun, said he would not shy away from cloning humans if regulations allowed it. Faced with strong public opinion against cloning of any kind, the European Union does not allow the practice in animal husbandry. But officials acknowledge that meat or milk derived from cows with a cloned ancestor may very well have made its way into the market, whether directly imported, obtained from a live imported animal, or one bred domestically from genetic material brought into the EU. "Without knowing it, Europeans are probably eating meat from the descendents of clones that cannot be traced," said Pauline Constant, spokeswoman for the European Office of consumer associations, based in Brussels. Officials say they are not concerned about any impact on human health. In September, the European Parliament called, by a large majority, not only for a ban on cloned animals, but also on products derived from them. The final decision rests with the European Commission, which has taken a less hard-line position. Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Australia are among the other countries which clone livestock. (AFP)

The Dolly legacy: Are you eating cloned meat?

cloning

Cloning, News on Cloning, stories on Cloning, articles on Cloning, Cloning stories at Wion, Cloning news, Cloning latest news