Chinese Scientists Have Cloned a Genetically Altered Primate For The First Time

This time last year, the first primates cloned through a nucleus transfer technique made headlines around the world. Now, Chinese researchers have pushed the envelope even further – by breaking a regulatory gene in macaques before cloning them. According to the researchers, cloning genetically altered primates has clear benefits for medical testing. But in the wake of controversy over gene-editing on humans, progress in this contentious area could be outpacing ethics. After the new experiment, five infant macaques born at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai all share the exact same genes, derived from a fibroblast taken from the skin of a donor monkey...MORE