Chinese researchers have announced that the procedure that produced Dolly the sheep more than two decades ago, has led to the birth of two, healthy, cloned monkeys. At a press conference, Director Poo Muming explained the technology used, and how this is of importance for the study of human genetic diseases.

POO MUMING DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF NEUROSCIENCE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES "We have proven how successful somatic cell nuclear transfer technology can create numerous cloned identical individuals. We edited genes in-vitro and accurately sifted and produced somatic cells with the same genotype. Scientists removed the nucleus from an egg cell and replaced it with another nucleus from differentiated body cells. The cloned monkeys have the same genetic background, which could reduce the timing and individual difference for experiments. In the future, this would dramatically reduce the amount for experimental animals requests, and offer a good animal model for the study of human diseases and health.