Scientist claims cloning first
2007-08-08 13:36
Tokyo - Japanese researchers said on Wednesday they had created a fourth-generation cloned pig in a world-first achievement that could lead to new transplant treatments for humans.
It is the first time that scientists have cloned such a large animal over successive generations, said Hiroshi Nagashima, a bioscientist leading the project at Meiji University.
He said the male pig - whose forebearers starting from his great-grandfather were also cloned in laboratories - was born on July 23 at the university in Tokyo.
"This shows that a large mammal can be cloned over multiple generations," Nagashima told AFP.
"It had been said that cloning animals over several generations causes problems because the genetic material in the nucleus of the donor cell degrades with each successive generation," he said.
US researchers had earlier cloned sixth-generation mice. But Nagashima said that his project was more useful as a pig is closer to a human being than a mouse.
If research in the area progresses, organs and cells of cloned pigs could be transplanted to humans to treat various diseases, he said.
One example would be to transplant a cloned pig's pancreas, which produces insulin, to a human diabetic, he said.