Chinese Researchers Generate Gene-Edited Monkey Clones with Mental Health Conditions

Nonetheless, there were concerns raised about the ethical aspects of primate cloning. In the process of developing Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, the scientists had to deal with numerous cloned embryos and monkeys that survived only for a brief period.

Primate research is subject to strict regulations, making it improbable that these techniques will be extensively employed in the near future.

However, the scientists involved in this research argued that cloning offers a way to decrease the overall number of monkeys used in experiments. This is because a uniform genetic background eliminates extraneous variables, resulting in more precise and informative data.

“This line of research will help to reduce the amount of macaque monkeys currently used in biomedical research around the world,” said Professor Mu-ming Poo “Without the interference of genetic background, a much smaller number of cloned monkeys carrying disease phenotypes may be sufficient for pre-clinical tests of the efficacy of therapeutics.”