2 Cloned Monkeys Frolic Together After Landmark Procedure
A pair of monkeys in China is being regarded as a scientific milestone after becoming the first primates to be successfully cloned.
Scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai announced their results Wednesday. They were able to create the genetic duplicates through the same procedure that produced Dolly the sheep in 1996.
The baby monkeys, born within the past eight months, are named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua.
Dr. Muming Poo, director of the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said cloning, combined with a gene editing technique, could produce monkeys replicating genetic defects in people.
Since primates are more like humans than any other lab animals, monkeys can then be used for studies and testing that may be more relevant to people.
In the first footage shown of Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, the two monkeys appear to be having fun playing around with toys in their incubator.
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