The World’s 5 Wackiest Cloned Animals
Animal Cloning is the process by which an entire organism is reproduced from a single cell taken from the parent organism and in a genetically identical manner. This means the cloned animal is an exact duplicate in every way of its parent; it has the same exact DNA. Cloning happens quite frequently in nature. With the advancement of biological technology, it is now possible to artificially recreate the process of Animal Cloning. Here is a list of Animal clones which were successful and survived for their life time.
ANDi
ANDi (inserted DNA, in reverse), the first genetically modified monkey with a date of birth dating back to Oct, 2000. ANDi was created specifically to carry one extra gene from another species. Born in the lab ANDi helped scientists pursue further tests for human diseases such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and heart disease. Check out 4 more such wackiest animals after the jump.
Little Idaho Gem
Little Idaho Gem celebrated a double when he was born in May 2003 becoming both the world’s first cloned mule and the world’s first clone related to the horse family. Financed by a wealthy mule-racing magnate, Idaho Gem, along with another cloned mule, Idaho Star, was sent to a trainer for a successful career on the track.
MIRA, MIRA and MIRA
America cloned goats first in 1999. And to prove it they gave them all the same name. Mira and Mira and Mira were all born within two months of each other. The aim was medical. The three Mira’s were created to produce a substance called antithrombin III in their milk, a protein which stops human blood clotting.
Injaz The camel
In April 2009 Injaz, or ‘Achievement’ in English, became the world’s first ever cloned camel. Injaz, a female one-humped camel, was born in Dubai on April 8, 2009 at the city’s Camel Reproduction Centre following investment from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum – he of international horse racing fame. Injaz’s real mother was slaughtered for camel meat in 2005, but scientists saved the DNA and injected it into an empty egg cell of Injaz’s surrogate camel mother. With camel racing big business in Dubai the implications of camel cloning are significant. And if you’re thinking you’ve heard of the Camel Reproduction Centre before it’s because it produced the world’s first ever Cama, a Camel Llama hybrid.
5 Little piglets
Pigs and humans have more in common than a bacon sandwich. In fact the animals are now extremely important as providers of organs for human transplants. On March 5, 2000 an Edinburgh-based company called PPL Therapeutics announced it had successfully cloned five piglets – Millie, Christa, Alexis, Carrell and Dotcom. Since then science and technology have moved on and pigs are being specifically engineered so that their tissues are not rejected by the human body.
