Skip to Content
Biotechnology

Here’s what we could do with the first-ever cloned monkeys

January 24, 2018

Chinese scientists say they’ve copied monkeys using cloning for the first time. The animals join a long list of cloned mammals that began with Dolly the sheep in 1996.

The monkeys: Scientists have cloned four long-tailed macaques in total. Two died from respiratory failure, though—a problem already seen with cloned pigs and cows. The survivors, pictured above, are named Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua.

So, are humans next? We don’t think so. It’s far too risky and controversial—however tempting the idea of cloning a lost loved one might be.

More realistic goals: Instead, it’s likely that researchers will try to create cloned monkeys harboring mutations that cause specific human disease, like muscular dystrophy or autism. That could give us a way to try to treat those diseases in animals similar to us.

Deep Dive

Biotechnology

Sam Altman invested $180 million into a company trying to delay death

Can anti-aging breakthroughs add 10 healthy years to the human life span? The CEO of OpenAI is paying to find out.

An ALS patient set a record for communicating via a brain implant: 62 words per minute

Brain interfaces could let paralyzed people speak at almost normal speeds.

Forget designer babies. Here’s how CRISPR is really changing lives

The gene-editing tool is being tested in people, and the first treatment could be approved this year.

Neuroscientists listened in on people’s brains for a week. They found order and chaos.

The study shows that our brains exist between chaos and stability—a finding that could be used to help tweak them either way.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.