The science of cloning is now one step closer to human cloning as the Chinese scientists were capable of cloning two monkeys using the 20-year old cloning techniques that made Dolly exist.
Why is primate cloning so important?
Since they’ve cloned Dolly the sheep, scientists kept on cloning mammals such as pigs, cattle, cats, dogs, rabbits, and mice. However, none of these is as important as cloning primates.
Science considers primates as the closest mammals to humans, therefore such an experiment may open the road to human cloning. At least, that’s what Muming Poo, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, thinks.
The monkey clones are healthy and safe
Despite the previous 79 failures the Chinese scientists have faced during the cloning experiment, this 2 monkey clones, Hua Hua and Zhong Zhong, were born normally and are now healthy and developing normally.
The techniques used by the Chinese are not new. Chinese used the cloning techniques that scientists used to clone Dolly, 20 years ago. In short, they took an egg and emptied it of any genetic material, and installed into it the DNA from a monkey fetus. Afterwards, the egg divided and formed an embryo which was implanted into a surrogate monkey ‘mother’.
Will human cloning come next?
Scientists believe that now the roads to human cloning are wide open but the ethics are questionable.
In the meantime, researchers look forward to providing some new possible approaches for treating genetic-based diseases such as metabolic syndrome and cancer. At least, that’s how the Chinese scientists have motivated the experiment of cloning the two monkey.
Worldwide scientists aren’t enthusiastic about the Chinese cloning experiment as they consider that the cloning techniques are old. Besides, the cloning process involves many failures until an embryo is successfully developing.
In conclusion, until new improved and less damaging cloning techniques will be discovered, scientists will not even try to clone humans.
