Scientists in Shanghai recently confirmed that they have successfully created the world’s first primate clones. The method that was used to create the clones, somatic cell transfer or SCNT, is the same technique that was used to create Dolly the sheep in 1996. While cloning and the SCNT technique itself has resulted in the successful cloning of various animals, including rabbits, pigs, cows, frogs, and other mammals, cloning a non-human primate has always been a challenge. Most groups who have attempted to clone other primate species have failed in their endeavors, but a group of scientists in China has apparently found a way, resulting in the birth of two long-tailed macaque clones.
In 1999, scientists were able to technically clone a rhesus monkey named Tetra. However, the method that was used was different from the SCNT method as it entailed actually splitting an embryo, similar to what happens naturally with identical twins. In the case of the Chinese-grown clones, the scientists actually reconstructed an unfertilized egg and used the nucleus from a donor to create an identical copy. According to the scientists, who published their results in the scientific journal Cell this week, the SCNT method actually produces a far more genetically matched clone when compared to other methods.
For the first time, scientists say they created cloned monkeys using the same cloning technique that made Dolly the sheep in 1996 https://t.co/GL9dzQ2P2y pic.twitter.com/mgwBvUAeTM
— CNN (@CNN) January 27, 2018
The birth of the two monkeys, named Hua Hua and Zhong Zhong, is a giant step towards perfecting the cloning process, which may soon lead to human cloning. This in itself presents a number of ethical issues that have been acknowledged by scientists who are working in the same field. Professors at Colorado State University have stated the birth of the two monkey will bring with it a number of ethical issues that have to be dealt with as a scientific barrier has basically been broken. Scientists responsible for the cloned monkeys have mentioned in their published paper that they have no intention of moving to actual human cloning, but they do believe that the breakthrough should start discussions regarding cloning laws and regulations.
Chinese scientists who cloned monkeys promise not to clone humans https://t.co/3zEdgRkGtt
— The Independent (@Independent) January 27, 2018
University of Kent Professor Darren Griffin also stated in an interview that careful consideration should be taken given that there could soon be cloning experiments done with actual human beings. However, it has to be noted that the SCNT cloning process utilized by the Chinese scientists had a very low birthing success rate, with only six pregnancies happening in 21 female monkey surrogates. The scientists are, however, confident that they should be able to elevate those figures with additional research and improved techniques.