Scientists Have Re-Cloned Mice To the 25th Generation

derekmead writes "Dolly's mere existence was profound. It was also unusually short, at just six years. But scientists in Japan announced yesterday they have succeeded in cloning mice using the same technique that created Dolly with more or less perfect results: The mice are healthy, they live just as long as regular mice, and they've been flawlessly cloned and recloned from the same source to the 25th generation. Researchers claim it's the first example of seamless, repeat cloning using the Dolly method—known as "somatic cell nuclear transfer" (SCNT)—in which the nucleus from an adult source animal is transferred to an egg with its nucleus removed. Until recently, the process was fraught with failures and mutations. But the team led by Teruhiko Wakayama, whose results were published today in the journal Cell Stem Cell, was able to create 581 clones from the same original mouse. Scientists, including Dolly's creator, have long felt the process was still too unstable—and too wasteful of precious eggs, given the failure rate—to be used on humans any time soon. But perhaps it's not so far off, after all."

Re:Hard to believe

[Anonymous Coward]

You're so wrong. There are certain women that should be cloned for people like me with no personality that have no ability to get girls on our own.

Meh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Call me evil, but I'm less interested in full blown cloning than I am creating a sack of meat and replacement organs.

Lose a kidney? I fear no rejection for I am fear incarnate! Also because cloned organs.

Re:Copyright

[Anonymous Coward]

So, without experience, it isn't "you"... QED... no problem.

"Failure Rate" is the issue

[Grayhand]

Large numbers of defective fetuses is what keeps human cloning from being a reality. Cloning also has the issue global warming has, the name is misleading. Instead of clone they should be called a genetic twin. Most assume the clone will look like you and have all the same characteristics. I'm sure some even think they'd have the same memories. A clone can be taller or shorter and It may look almost exactly the same but even identical twin have slight differences so family and friends can pick them out. The only hope of human cloning having a future is to get away from this carbon copy idea and explain to people how they will be unique and not a perfect copy.