China Agricultural University has successfully cloned a mini pig from a single body cell. It is the first cloned pig to be independently developed by Chinese scientists.

 

The university announced the birth of the piglet at about 10:50 AM on August 5 at the Minghui Pig Raising Company in Sanhe, Hebei Province. The little porker weighed in at 1.13 kg.

 

 

The project, which involved more than a year of intensive research, was sponsored by the "973" program and the Beijing Nature and Science Fund.

 

China is the seventh country to have successfully cloned pigs, after Britain, Japan, the US, Australia, South Korea and Germany.

 

Professor Li Ning, head of the research group that cloned the pig, said that the cloning technique used is extremely important as far as medical research is concerned. It will contribute to the research on organ transplants between humans and animals.

 

In the field of agriculture, it will help to improve the pig species.

 

(China.org.cn by Li Xiaohua, August 9, 2005)