Scientists in China have successfully cloned monkeys using the same technique that created Dolly the sheep in 1996. It’s called somatic cell transfer.
Basically, the nucleus of an unfertilized egg is removed and replaced with the nucleus from another cell, which is then stimulated until it develops into an embryo.
The cell cluster can be used to make multiple genetically-matched animals.
The team used new technology that helped with the nucleus transfer and the fusion of cells. It took them three years to perfect the technique.
The genetically-identical, long-tailed macaques Hua Hua and Zhong Zhong were created more than a month ago.
Scientists said they hope their work leads to a better understanding of human disease.
The research was published Wednesday in the journal “Cell.”
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