Cloning of First Monkeys in China
Two monkeys have been cloned in a Chinese laboratory. They were created with the identical technique used to clone Dolly, the sheep back in 1996. Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua were born a few weeks ago at a Chinese lab. Researchers say they are growing normally.
Over two decades ago, Dolly, became the first successfully cloned mammal. Since then cows, pigs, dogs and other mammals have been cloned. The cloning of primates was thought to be more difficult than the creation of other mammals in a lab. The Chinese team has brought the scientific community one step closer to the cloning of humans.
The technique used in the test involves transferring the nucleus of a cell into an egg which has had its nucleus removed. The experiment was remarkable because it used fetal cells instead of adult cells. It took the Chinese scientists many attempts and 127 eggs to clone just two monkeys.
According to scientists, the cloning of monkeys will help to research human diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer's disease. It is also important in drug research.
China has invested heavily in research in the past years. The successful test came at a time when American and European scientists have backed away from using monkeys and apes for ethical reasons.
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Words
- according to = as said by ...
- Alzheimer's disease = disease that affects the brain, especially of older people; it makes it difficult for you to move, talk or remember things
- attempt = try
- back away = stop doing something
- cancer = serious illness in which cells can grow in an uncontrolled way
- clone = an animal or plant produced by scientists from one cell of another animal or plant so that they are exactly the same
- creation = making something
- decade = ten years
- disease = illness
- drug research = creating new forms of medicine
- ethical = something that is morally good or bad
- fetal = belonging to an unborn baby or animal
- human = a person
- identical = the same
- including = also
- invest = put money into ...
- laboratory = room or building in which scientific experiments take place
- mammal = type of animal that drinks milk from its mother's body when it is young; humans, dogs and cows are mammals
- nucleus = the central part of an atom
- primate = member of a group of mammals that includes humans and monkeys
- remove = take away
- remarkable = unusual, surprising
- researcher = person who studies something in order to find out more about it
- scientific community = all the people who do research work in labs
- technique = method; way of doing something
- transfer = move from one place to another