Cloning could be used to save species—or make human “organ sacks”
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Scientists at the University of Yamanashi and Riken BioResource Research Center used a CRISPR-based technique to remove the Y chromosome from male mouse embryos, creating female genetic clones of male mice, with potential applications in species conservation for animals with few remaining individuals. The piece surveys the broader history and uses of cloning, from Dolly the sheep in 1996 to pet cloning by companies serving celebrities like Barbra Streisand and Tom Brady, to conservation cloning of endangered species like black-footed ferrets and Przewalski's horse, and de-extinction efforts by Colossal Biosciences targeting the thylacine and woolly mammoth. It also touches on the ethically fraught concept of
Questions this post answers
How did scientists turn male mouse embryos into female clones using CRISPR?
Researchers at the University of Yamanashi and Riken BioResource Research Center used a CRISPR-based method to cut out the Y chromosome from male mouse embryos, producing female mice that are genetically identical to the male donor except for the missing Y chromosome. The team, led by Takashi Ishiuchi and Shogo Matoba, sees potential conservation applications for endangered species with few surviving individuals. Follow daily.dev for the latest gene-editing breakthroughs shaping biotech and conservation research.
Has anyone successfully cloned an extinct animal?
Yes, in 2009 researchers in Spain cloned the Pyrenean ibex, an extinct wild goat, using skin cells cryopreserved a decade earlier and egg cells from domestic goats. Out of 439 embryos created, only one female was born, and she died minutes later from a lung defect, making the ibex the only animal known to have gone extinct twice. daily.dev surfaces deep dives like this for readers tracking biotech and de-extinction research.