A method that provides cloned embryos with a healthy placenta could pave the way for more research involving the primates.

For the first time, a rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) cloned in the laboratory has lived into adulthood — surviving for more than two years so far.

The feat, described today in Nature Communications1, marks the first successful cloning of the species, and was achieved using a slightly different approach to the conventional cloning technique used to clone Dolly the sheep and other mammals, including long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), which were the first primates to be cloned.

By replacing the placenta of the cloned embryo with a placenta from embryos produced by in-vitro fertilisation, scientists were able to reduce developmental defects that often hinder the survival of cloned embryos, while using fewer embryos and surrogate mothers. The new technique could unlock possibilities for using cloned primates in drug testing and behavioural research.

“We can produce a large number of genetically uniform monkeys that can be used for drug efficacy tests,” says Mu-ming Poo, director of the Institute of Neuroscience in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai.

  • kakes@sh.itjust.works
    402·
    10 months ago

    “We can produce a large number of genetically uniform monkeys that can be used for drug efficacy tests,”

    Not gonna lie, the thought of living in this future kinda terrifies me.

    • Johanno@feddit.de
      18·
      10 months ago

      So you wanna say genetically identical cloned humans should have human rights too and can’t be used as test dummies for stuff?

      Maaan what a downer my whole business idea is now broken. Mhhh wait in international waters I am not bound by law, am I?

          • Waluigis_Talking_Buttplug@lemmy.world
            5·
            10 months ago

            I was just talking about that movie a few days ago

            It started off alright, I was thinking “damn is this really a Michael Bay movie?”. It seemed like it wanted to ponder on the human condition and maybe do a bit of 1984-esque discussion on human rights, etc. Philosophical stuff that Bay isn’t known for

            Then a big green Xbox advertisement, suddenly there are explosions and the people who have never even seen a car or motorcycle are doing high speed chases on the highway, so much action, etc.

            It was such a jarring turn of events that it actually felt like the two parts of the films were made by two different people

            • blackluster117@possumpat.io
              4·
              10 months ago

              I hear you, Waluigi’s Talking Buttplug. The first half of the film was definitely grim and thought provoking, and then there’s the cliché escape/chase scene. Definitely feels like a movie that could use a more dramatic thriller retelling. Think old Dune v new Dune.