Asia Times: China’s Monkey Business Starts Cloning Controversy

Chinese researchers have cloned two macaque monkeys, using the technique that created Dolly the sheep in 1996 – somatic cell nuclear transfer. The research follows the 1999 cloning of a rhesus money in Oregon, using embryo splitting. Such studies could pave the way for human cloning. Monkeys and humans are primates which both form strong family and social bonds. A goal of the research in China is to create animals for medical research. The research signals China’s increasing investment and prominence in biosciences, explains Gordon Waits for Asia Times. A science policy adviser with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals criticized the cloning research as unethical as well as a waste of time and money. “Poo reiterated that guidelines for animal research, set by the US National Institutes of Health, were strictly followed,” Waits reports, adding “he also called for discussions on what should, or should not, be considered acceptable practices in primate cloning.” The nations that invest in science lead in setting priorities and standards for innovation, economic developments and ethics. – YaleGlobal