Wisconsin company announces cloning of calf
By Sid Perkins
UPI Science News
DEFOREST, Wis., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin company says it has
successfully cloned a Holstein calf.
ABS Global, Inc., which has a 56-year history in the cattle breeding
business, will announce the details of the cloning at a news conference at
their headquarters in DeForest tomorrow. Company officials also will
discuss the details of their "proprietary, highly advanced technology"
that can be used to clone dairy and beef cattle.
A company announcement reveals the young calf, a bull, was born in
February of this year. DNA testing has confirmed the calf is a clone, and
the company continues to monitor the health and development of the calf.
The ABS announcement adds that the process used to produce the calf
represents "significant differences and advances in cloning
technology."
Normally, sexual reproduction involves the fertilization of an egg by a
sperm, each of which have half of the genetic material needed to produce
the offspring. Because the fertilized egg received genetic material from
two parents, it is not a "copy" of either parent.
Cloning involves removing the genetic material from an egg cell and
replacing it with the genetic material from another complete cell. Because
the complete set of genetic material comes from one cell, the clone is an
exact genetic duplicate of the donor cell.
Researchers from the Roslin Institute in Scotland announced earlier this
year the cloning of "Dolly," the sheep. Although Dolly was not the first
clone to be produced, she was the first clone in which the donated genetic
material came from an adult cell. Dolly's cloning was significant because
adult cells have already specialized into specific tissue types, such as
skin, muscle and bone.
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