Science boffins reveal world’s first piglet clones created entirely by robots

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Scientists have unveiled the world's first ever piglet clones created entirely by robots.

The remarkable breakthrough comes from a team of boffins at China's Nankai University, led by professor Zhao Xin.

The seven identical purebred landrace piglets, which are also the world's first animal clones created using only robot automation, were produced by an ordinary "surrogate" sow after 110 days of pregnancy.

The new technique reportedly means that animals can be cloned using just a sample of their genetic material.

Moreover, once an identical genetic copy has been created, the pigs can be cloned repeatedly, replacing older animals every three years when they become less fertile.

The research was conducted to solve restrictions in access to top-quality breeding animals in China.

Nankai University have said their work now offers an effective solution, with their cloning technology capable of recreating the original breeding pigs.

However, despite the breakthrough, the process remains extremely complicated. The technology used is very high-end and the success rate isn't high.

Further improvements remain unlikely for now given that there aren't enough people qualified to carry out further research using the tech.

Regardless, the recent birth of seven identical piglets using automated cloning technology remains very significant.

The research team say that their tech can improve the blastocyst rate of successful cloning – the rate at which a ball of cells divides – from 10% to 27.5%.

Moreover, the average size of a litter when pigs were cloned manually was less than five. Robotic and automated technologies have produced two batches containing a total of 24.

Each year China is said to require a staggering 13million female pigs, as well as 300,000 male pigs, to replace those growing too old to reproduce.

The Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, as well as the Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, assisted the team's work.

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  • Animals
  • Science
  • China
  • Robots

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