In 1996, Dolly the sheep was the first animal successfully cloned, and her existence was a sign that genetic engineering had the potential to go beyond anybody’s. Wildest Dreams More than 20 other species, including dogs, cats, and even cows, have successfully undergone cloning in the three decades since then. All these clones shared a common technique, somatic cell nuclear transfer. This process involves removing the nucleus of an egg cell and replacing it with a nucleus taken from a sematic cell, which can be taken from any other part of the body under the right conditions and after stimulating the newly formed cell with a shock.
Reus monkey using a CNT
It will start to divide if taken care of properly. These cells can eventually grow into a fully functioning living creature, an exact clone of its parent. This is due to the fact that it only possesses a single set of genetic material. Although numerous animals have utilized this technique, primates have consistently proven to be challenging to clone. Researchers finally cloned the first monkeys using this method, a pair of maacs named Zong, in 2018. However, researchers at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences waited until 2024 to clone the first Reus monkey using a CNT named Retro, despite the cloning of maacs being considered a significant advancement.
Creation of the Clone Retro
They finally made the breakthrough when they realized that the reason so many previous attempts had failed was due to defective placentas. For some reason, Reese’s monkeys created from SCND couldn’t properly use their placenta and umbilical cord to intake enough nutrients. Researchers resolved this issue by utilizing healthy cells from a non-cloned monkey and cultivating the placenta from them, leading to the creation of the Clone Retro. According to the researchers, genetically identical monkeys, the first of their kind, are essential for the future of the medical field because of their similarities. Means more certainty in testing results. Overall, they assert that this would lead to a reduction in the use of monkeys for testing, a claim that many find quite concerning.
Firstly, Stokes expresses his fear that human cloning could become a reality in the future, despite the opposition of every ethics board and most geneticists. Animal rights activists, who oppose monkey experimentation and the creation of a special genetic line of monkeys, voice their concerns as genetics progresses towards that outcome. Specifically for disease and drug testing, we’re still a long way off from consistently cloning Reese’s monkeys, despite the recent success. Retro was just one viable baby out of 113 total embryo attempts, with a success rate of less than 1%. What the researchers have done has shown that it’s possible, opening up many doors for geneticists around the world.
Dr. Abid Hussain Nawaz
Ph.D
