Scientists in China have cloned a rhesus macaque, and very successfully – the animal is now more than two years old. The researchers say their improved methods could provide a “promising strategy for primate cloning” in the future.
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The creature is named Retro, in honor of one of the techniques used in his creation, called trophoblast replacement.
However, this is not the first successful cloning of a rhesus macaque. In 1997, in the United States, scientists created such an animal by means of “embryo separation”, he was given the name Tetra. Then the macaque embryo at an early stage of development was divided into parts, creating a set of genetically identical twins. This relatively low-tech method of cloning is sometimes called “artificial twinning.”
