The possibility of cloning your pet is getting closer although not necessarily affordable or ethical for everyone. Regardless of public opinion, the Chinese company Sinogene Biotechnology Company announced the successful cloning of a British Shorthair kitten.
The boy’s name is Garlic and his birth was achieved in July 2019. The pussy came to the world 66 days after implanting an embryo – artificially obtained in a geneticist laboratory – in a surrogate mother. Here it is:
Although it is not the first cloned cat in the world, Garlic is a “pioneer” in China, in addition to being the first cloned mammal in the laboratories of the Sinogene Biotechnology Company.
Despite the moral gaps, the creators of Garlic defend their necessary reply under a “noble” purpose: to return their pet “full” to citizen Huang Yu, who lost his cat after he died of a severe infection in the tract urinary.
Yu became the sensation of the oriental media when he described in a press conference the reasons that led him to Garlic’s request:
My dear cat died of urinary disease. I decided to clone it because it was very special and unforgettable for me.
At the same conference, spokespersons for the Sinogene Biotechnology Company seconded Yu’s desire and defended the cloning of companion animals:
It is possible to achieve the desired affection and achieve a lifelong friendship with pets. Since the idea of separation becomes unacceptable and unbearable for many, we offer the solution. Pets are part of the family and should be treated like this.
Hoping to achieve an enduring source of happiness in people’s lives, Sinogene still stands to take advantage of current technology and bring back the pets that died.
It should be remembered that in 1996 Scotland made history by cloning the Dolly sheep, at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh. It was the first cloned mammal in the world, although his health was never the best.
Since the life expectancy of the sheep is 12 to 15 years, the unfortunate Dolly only lived seven. It was sacrificed in 2003 after developing multiple lung conditions and generalized arthritis.
The issue of animal health obtained from cloning is also part of constant bioethical debates. “Is there any point in replicating life when in any way it is doomed to suffering and premature death?” Is the question that tends to torment biotechnologists and expert geneticists
How is mammalian cloning achieved?
Although the details of obtaining Garlic have not been fully disseminated, it is greatly advanced that, like Dolly, it comes from a nuclear combination from a differentiated donor cell to an unfertilized ovum without a nucleus.
In Dolly’s particular case, his cell came from a specific tissue: the mammary gland of an adult animal, a six-year-old Finn Dorset lamb.
Although the details of obtaining Garlic have not been fully disseminated, it is greatly advanced that, like Dolly, it comes from a nuclear combination from a differentiated donor cell to an unfertilized ovum without a nucleus.
In Dolly’s particular case, his cell came from a specific tissue: the mammary gland of an adult animal, a six-year-old Finn Dorset lamb.