Embryo Transfers and Cloning of Animals
Walter E. Hill · 2019
The transfected cells are then transferred to the blastocysts, after which the blastocysts Construct are placed into the uterus of the surrogate mother mice. In a related process called in vitro fertilization, a blastocyst is transferred to a surrogate mother. By inserting the transfected cells into the blastocyst, those cells become part of the mouse to be born. Scientists in Scotland reported that they took cells from an embryo, grew thousands of individual copies in the laboratory, and then used these copies to produce a number of cloned sheep from ewes. If the efficiency and reproducibilty can be improved, cloning may become useful in animal breeding. The ethical considerations of human cloning are enormous. Transgenic animals can be used to make new proteins, to grow new organs, and to be tested for medical uses. Development of these new transgenic animal strains provides unique opportunities for medical testing and production of new pharmaceuticals.