|
| Date Archive : 12/27/2007 |
| Date Enter; : 12/27/2007 |
|
Hour Enter : 3:22:55 PM |
| Resource : AFP |
| Summery : South Korean scientists said Thursday that they had developed a more efficient way to produce cloned pigs suitable for organ transplants for humans.
Unlike the traditional cloning method using somatic cells, the scientists said they had used stem cells extracted from pigs' bone marrow to obtain cloned embryos -- much improving the success rate. |
|
The scientists wanted to clone smaller-than-normal pigs weighing between 60-80 kilogrammes (132-176 pounds) when adult, since their organs would be a similar size to human ones.
They said it was the first time such pigs had been cloned using stem cells.
"This is a highly efficient method to produce cloned mini-pigs," said Seong Hwan-Hoo, a senior researcher with the National Institute of Animal Science.
Embryos cloned using somatic cells have only a one to five percent chance of survival, the team said. Using stem cells, this can be increased to 20 percent.
Read more at: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071227/ts_afp/healthscienceskoreastemcells_071227060928
|
