Mouse Cloned From A Mere Drop Of Blood
The Cloned Mouse Lives! This mouse was successfully cloned from a mere drop of blood, and lived, fertile, to 23 months. Biology of Reproduction Scientists in Japan have been able, for the first time, to successfully clone a mouse from a blood sample drawn from a living donor's tail. 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. A common method used for animal cloning is somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), which does not require egg fertilization. SCNT extracts the nucleus of an animal's cell (where nearly all of the necessary genetic information is stored) and also that of an egg cell. The donor nucleus is then...