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Blake, Wm. The Quato & Saccawinkee Monkeys, object 10. 1796.

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The longest-lived cloned primate in the world has survived for over two years.

Two years ago, scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences successfully cloned a rhesus macaque with the same technique used to clone Dolly the sheep in 1996. This method involves taking DNA from something like a skin cell from a normal grown monkey and then injecting it into an embryo that has had its own DNA removed. The embryo is then carried to term by a surrogate.

Dr. Qiang Sun, who created the first successful monkey clones in 2018, said he managed to develop a healthier placenta that improved the latest creature’s development. He claims the team has “improved the efficiency” of cloning monkeys, which they hope can one day be used for lab research, calling the success “remarkable.” 

Despite this achievement, the process remains controversial and challenging, with a low success rate of one successful birth from 113 attempts. 

Dr. Lluís Montoliu, who was not part of the research: “This cloning demonstrates two things. First, it is possible to clone primates. Second, but no less important, it is extremely difficult to succeed with these experiments, with such low efficiencies once again ruling out human cloning. These experiments could not have been conducted in Europe. Legislation prohibits the use of non-human primates unless the experiment is aimed at investigating a serious, life-threatening disease, which is not the case in this experiment.”