Scientists have cloned the lowly rat for the first time

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Scientists have successfully cloned rats for the first time, a significant achievement that has garnered interest primarily from researchers studying diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and neurological disorders. Cloning animals such as cats, cows, and pigs has been motivated by various reasons, including pet owners wanting to revive lost pets and the potential for using pig organs in human transplants. However, the cloning of rats raises questions about the ethical considerations of animal research, especially since recent amendments to the Animal Welfare Act in the U.S. have led to rats, mice, and birds being classified as less deserving of protection. The cloning technique, developed by researchers at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in France and the Institute of Zoology in Beijing, involved a novel approach that allowed for the successful cloning of both male and female white rats. This breakthrough is seen as a clever solution to a longstanding challenge in animal cloning.
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Scientists have cloned the lowly rat for the first time, and, believe it or not, people are happy about it.

The cat, cow and pig, among others, have all been cloned. Why clone all these animals? Pet owners long to resurrect their lost Muffin, ranchers want to reproduce their best beef cattle, and pig organs might one day replace damaged human organs. But why anyone would want to clone a rat is beyond belief for most people, except researchers who study heart disease, diabetes and neurological disorders.

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,60580,00.html
 
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All the more interesting in light of a tidbit I read in the Jan 2003 issue of Discover...

Last May, Congress played with definitions while amending the Animal Welfare Act...representatives in Washington no longer consider rats, mice, and birds used in laboratory experiments to be animals, or at least animals worthy of protection.
 
Didn't the French actually clone the rat?


"Both male and female white rats were cloned using a technique that slowed the maturing of the rat eggs used in the procedure..."

That can be seen here: http://www.iht.com/articles/111313.html
 
Originally posted by Jeebus
Didn't the French actually clone the rat?


"Both male and female white rats were cloned using a technique that slowed the maturing of the rat eggs used in the procedure..."

That can be seen here: http://www.iht.com/articles/111313.html

The wired article:

A rat clone has evaded scientists for years, and animal cloning researchers were impressed by the new technique devised by scientists at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique in France, and the Institute of Zoology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing...

The French and Chinese researchers used a chemical to prevent activation, performed the somatic cell nuclear transfer, then removed the chemical, allowing it to proceed with activation -- kind of like catching a water balloon mid-air, taking out the water and filling it with Gatorade, then letting it go again.

"I think it's classic good science," Davis said. "They have a very simple but clever solution to the problem."

The Herald:
Both male and female white rats were cloned...at the National Institute of Agricultural Research at Jouy-en-Josas, France

Same story.
 

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