Popsci

Scientists at the Riken BioResource Center in Japan have managed to clone a mouse from a minuscule, peripheral blood sample for the first time. The method leaves donor animals virtually unharmed, and allows a single donor to be a clone source more than once. It also shows promise for the cloning of farm animals.

In this experiment, the scientists merely drew 10–15 μl of blood from a mouse’s tail and collected white blood cells from that sample. The nuclei were then extracted from the white blood cells, and scientists continued with the somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) process.

This method could allow for the cloning of endangered or cherished animals (such as a cow that produces a large amount of milk, or “invaluable strains of mice” as the report states) since the donor need not be euthanized.

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