China clones gene-edited monkeys to aid research

Chinese scientists announced yesterday they had cloned five monkeys from a single animal that was genetically engineered to have a sleep disorder, saying it could aid research into human psychological problems. The claim, detailed in two reports published in a Chinese science journal, is the latest in a series of biomedical advances in the country, some of which have fuelled medical ethics debates.

A research team from the Institute of Neuroscience at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai said it had altered the genes of a macaque to give it circadian rhythm disorder, in which the body’s “clock” is out of sync with normal sleep times. They went on to clone five macaques from that individual, and found that the new monkeys -- born over the past six months -- show signs of mental problems associated with sleep disorders including depression, anxiety and behaviours linked to schizophrenia.

The findings, published Thursday in the English-language journal National Science Review, were hailed as a world first by Chinese media.