April 18, 2007

Australia clones first beef cow
 

Australian scientists claimed on Tuesday (April 17) it accomplished the country's very first cloning of Brahman cattle, a breed of beef cow.

Cloning "Mini," cost her central Queensland-based owners about $30,000, according to local reports.

Dr. Richard Fry of Clone International explained that the process is difficult, with a success rate of about 10 percent due to genetic problems. He said it needed to entirely "rub off the memory of the cell" to avoid getting incorrect expression of genes. He added if the embryo did not form well, the cloned cow would not get pregnant.

Chris Fenech of the Fenech Brahman Cattle company says "Mini" was cloned from one of his family's prized stud bulls.