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.

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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

At $100,000 a head, the puppies frolicking around the fenced lawn in western Seoul don&#39;t come cheap but at least their owners know exactly what they are getting. 
 
The lawn belongs to the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, a world leader in pet cloning that has run a thriving commercial business over the past decade catering to dog owners who want to live with their pets forever literally. 
 
With a client list including princes, celebrities and billionaires, the foundation offers owners protection against loss and grief with a cloning service that promises the perfect replacement for a beloved pet. 
 
Since 2006, the facility has cloned nearly 800 dogs, commissioned by owners or state agencies seeking to replicate their best sniffer and rescue dogs. 
 
&quot;These people have very a strong bond with their pets and cloning provides a psychological alternative to the traditional method of just letting the pet go and keeping their memory,&quot; said Wang Jae-Woong, a researcher and spokesman for Sooam. 
 
&quot;With cloning, you have a chance to bring back the pets,&quot; he said in the facility&#39;s &quot;care room&quot; where each cloned puppy is kept in a glass-fronted, temperature-controlled pen and monitored by researchers around the clock. 
 
Ever since the milestone birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996, the rights and wrongs of cloning have been a topic of heated debate and Sooam Biotech has been regarded with particular suspicion because of its founder, Hwang Woo-Suk. 
 
In two articles published in the journal Science in 2004 and 2005, Hwang claimed to have derived stem-cell lines from cloned human embryos, a world first. 
 
Fraudulent hero 
 
He was lauded as a national hero in South Korea before it emerged that his research was fraudulent and riddled with ethical lapses. 
 
Hwang was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2009, after being convicted of embezzlement and bioethical violations. 
 
Sooam Biotech clones many animals, including cattle and pigs for medical research and breed preservation, but is best known for its commercial dog service. 
 
The process involves harvesting a mature cell from the dog to be copied and transferring its DNA to a donor egg cell that has had its own genetic material removed. 
 
The cell and the egg are &quot;fused&quot; with an electrical jolt, and the resulting embryo is implanted in a surrogate mother dog, which will give birth about two months later. 
 
Despite the $100,000 price tag, requests for the service have poured in from around the world, Wang said, around half from North America. 
 
Some have sought clones of other pets like cats, snakes and even chinchillas, but Wang said the demand for such animals was too small to justify the cost. 
 
Walls around the five-storey Sooam Biotech centre are adorned with dozens of photos of cloned dogs and their smiling owners, tagged with their national flags including the US, Mexico, Dubai, Russia, Japan, China and Germany. 
 
&quot;(The clients) understand that a clone is an identical twin of the original pet, but also has a lot of genetic predispositions and the potential to develop as the original pet,&quot; Wang said. 
 
9/11 canine hero 
 
One well publicised cloning was of Trakr, a former police dog hailed as a hero after discovering the last survivor of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. 
 
Sooam produced five clones after Trakr&#39;s owner won a contest for the world&#39;s most &quot;clone-worthy&quot; dog. 
 
High profile clients have included Princess Shaikha Latifah of Dubai who cloned her pet dog in 2015 and helped launch a joint research study into cloning camel breeds known for high milk production. 
 
For the most part, the foundation&#39;s clients and financial supporters of Hwang Woo-Suk&#39;s research prefer to remain anonymous. 
 
&quot;Few of our backers - even the most loyal ones - want to voice their support publicly,&quot; said Sooam Biotech&#39;s general manager Kim Hoon, who acknowledged that the scandal involving the facility&#39;s founder had tainted its image. 
 
&quot;I think the only way to win the public&#39;s trust back is by making more genuine scientific breakthroughs,&quot; he said. 
 
The centre does not conduct any human stem cell research after being repeatedly denied a state approval to do so. 
 
But it is pushing a number of ambitious projects, most notably an effort to clone an extinct mammoth. 
 
Since 2012, Hwang&#39;s team has attempted to cultivate living cells from the frozen remains of mammoths in Siberia. 
 
Disease &#39;models&#39; 
 
For medical research purposes, Sooam Biotech also produces genetically-engineered animals, or &quot;disease models&quot; that are predisposed to Alzheimer&#39;s, diabetes or certain cancers. 
 
During a visit to the clinic by AFP, Hwang himself was leading a procedure to inject the embryo of a Beagle into a surrogate mother dog&#39;s womb. 
 
&quot;This dog, once born, has a possibility to become a disease model for human brain tumours,&quot; Hwang said. 
 
Sooam is also involved in a joint venture with Chinese biotechnology firm Boyalife to set up what will be the world&#39;s largest animal cloning factory in the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin. 
 
But head researcher Jeong Yeon-Woo said the dog cloning remained his favourite service because of the reaction of owners when they see the puppies. 
 
&quot;They look like they found a child that had been missing,&quot; Jeong said. 
 
&quot;The moment of pure joy like that makes me realise again why I&#39;m doing this.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Since 2006, the facility has cloned nearly 800 dogs, commissioned by owners or state agencies seeking to replicate their best sniffer dogs

At $100,000 a head, the puppies frolicking around the fenced lawn in western Seoul don't come cheap but at least their owners know exactly what they are getting. The lawn belongs to the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, a world leader in pet cloning that has run a thriving commercial business over the past decade catering to dog owners who want to live with their pets forever literally. With a client list including princes, celebrities and billionaires, the foundation offers owners protection against loss and grief with a cloning service that promises the perfect replacement for a beloved pet. Since 2006, the facility has cloned nearly 800 dogs, commissioned by owners or state agencies seeking to replicate their best sniffer and rescue dogs. "These people have very a strong bond with their pets and cloning provides a psychological alternative to the traditional method of just letting the pet go and keeping their memory," said Wang Jae-Woong, a researcher and spokesman for Sooam. "With cloning, you have a chance to bring back the pets," he said in the facility's "care room" where each cloned puppy is kept in a glass-fronted, temperature-controlled pen and monitored by researchers around the clock. Ever since the milestone birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996, the rights and wrongs of cloning have been a topic of heated debate and Sooam Biotech has been regarded with particular suspicion because of its founder, Hwang Woo-Suk. In two articles published in the journal Science in 2004 and 2005, Hwang claimed to have derived stem-cell lines from cloned human embryos, a world first. Fraudulent hero He was lauded as a national hero in South Korea before it emerged that his research was fraudulent and riddled with ethical lapses. Hwang was given a two-year suspended prison sentence in 2009, after being convicted of embezzlement and bioethical violations. Sooam Biotech clones many animals, including cattle and pigs for medical research and breed preservation, but is best known for its commercial dog service. The process involves harvesting a mature cell from the dog to be copied and transferring its DNA to a donor egg cell that has had its own genetic material removed. The cell and the egg are "fused" with an electrical jolt, and the resulting embryo is implanted in a surrogate mother dog, which will give birth about two months later. Despite the $100,000 price tag, requests for the service have poured in from around the world, Wang said, around half from North America. Some have sought clones of other pets like cats, snakes and even chinchillas, but Wang said the demand for such animals was too small to justify the cost. Walls around the five-storey Sooam Biotech centre are adorned with dozens of photos of cloned dogs and their smiling owners, tagged with their national flags including the US, Mexico, Dubai, Russia, Japan, China and Germany. "(The clients) understand that a clone is an identical twin of the original pet, but also has a lot of genetic predispositions and the potential to develop as the original pet," Wang said. 9/11 canine hero One well publicised cloning was of Trakr, a former police dog hailed as a hero after discovering the last survivor of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Sooam produced five clones after Trakr's owner won a contest for the world's most "clone-worthy" dog. High profile clients have included Princess Shaikha Latifah of Dubai who cloned her pet dog in 2015 and helped launch a joint research study into cloning camel breeds known for high milk production. For the most part, the foundation's clients and financial supporters of Hwang Woo-Suk's research prefer to remain anonymous. "Few of our backers - even the most loyal ones - want to voice their support publicly," said Sooam Biotech's general manager Kim Hoon, who acknowledged that the scandal involving the facility's founder had tainted its image. "I think the only way to win the public's trust back is by making more genuine scientific breakthroughs," he said. The centre does not conduct any human stem cell research after being repeatedly denied a state approval to do so. But it is pushing a number of ambitious projects, most notably an effort to clone an extinct mammoth. Since 2012, Hwang's team has attempted to cultivate living cells from the frozen remains of mammoths in Siberia. Disease 'models' For medical research purposes, Sooam Biotech also produces genetically-engineered animals, or "disease models" that are predisposed to Alzheimer's, diabetes or certain cancers. During a visit to the clinic by AFP, Hwang himself was leading a procedure to inject the embryo of a Beagle into a surrogate mother dog's womb. "This dog, once born, has a possibility to become a disease model for human brain tumours," Hwang said. Sooam is also involved in a joint venture with Chinese biotechnology firm Boyalife to set up what will be the world's largest animal cloning factory in the northeastern Chinese port city of Tianjin. But head researcher Jeong Yeon-Woo said the dog cloning remained his favourite service because of the reaction of owners when they see the puppies. "They look like they found a child that had been missing," Jeong said. "The moment of pure joy like that makes me realise again why I'm doing this." (AFP)

Want your precious pet to live forever? South Korea's dog cloning clinic makes it possible

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Dolly The Sheep, News on Dolly The Sheep, stories on Dolly The Sheep, articles on Dolly The Sheep, Dolly The Sheep stories at Wion, Dolly The Sheep news, Dolly The Sheep latest news

dolly the-sheep

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

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

Want your precious pet to live forever? South Korea's dog cloning clinic makes it possible