We all remember the case of the Dolly sheep, which was cloned a little over two decades ago and was said to have died of arthritis - a situation that was recently denied. Well today, scientists from China reported that they cloned two macaque monkeys, using the same technique they applied in Dolly: nuclear transfer of somatic cells.
*What is nuclear transfer of somatic cells?
It is a technique in which the nucleus of a mature body cell is transplanted to an ovule without a nucleus. The ovum must reprogram the DNA of the nucleus, in essence, it must strip the cell of the body of its identity and return it to an embryonic state.
Without established identity, it can be converted into any type of cell in the body.
*The cloning of mammals, after Dolly
Since Dolly was cloned in 1996, the same technique was applied to 20 other species of mammals, including cats, dogs, rats, and even a camel.
Although nuclear somatic cell transfer was used in all cases, the technology has improved in each case.
A different one from the rest of the mammals was the cloning of a rhesus monkey, because the technique focused on dividing a single embryo into genetically identical embryos.
*How will the cloning of these monkeys help?
Researchers will be able to better understand diseases in humans, since macaques are close genetic relatives of humans. Clones facilitate the elimination of genetic complications when studying diseases.
In this way, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua -name of the monkeys- are consolidated as the first cloned primates reprogramming adult cells and will be under observation to know if they present anomalies.
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