Abnormal Structure May Have Caused Death of China's First Cloned Calf: Experts

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 22, 2002

Abnormal Structure May Have Caused Death of China's First Cloned Calf: Experts

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China's First Cloned Calf Confirmed Dead

A dissection over the weekend suggested that the death of Weiwei, China's first cloned calf, was likely to be a result of abnormal physiological structure rather than a failure of the cloning technology.

The dissection showed that Weiwei had an oversized heart and liver and five lobes in its right lung, but its intestinal tract and genital system were normal, said Professor Ma Shiyuan, a member of the embryo transplantation project, who dissected the calf Saturday.

Exact reason not yet identified

However, Ma and his colleagues have not yet been able to identify the exact reason for Weiwei's death. "Further cell analysis and research are necessary," said Chen Dayuan, a researcher with the Animal Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Chen himself, though, is also inclined to believe that structural problems caused Weiwei's death.

Weiwei, a female calf, was born through a Cesarean section at 9:25 pm last Friday at the Jinan-based Shandong Zhongda Animal Embryo Engineering Center, but died a little over one hour after her birth.

The birth of Weiwei marked the first successful experiment of its kind wholly conducted in China.

Under the same research program, a dozen other pregnant cows are expected to give birth to cloned calves in the days to come.

China's First Cloned Calf Confirmed Dead

Chinese scientists confirmed Saturday the death of China's first cloned calf, which was born at 9:25 pm Friday in Caoxian County, east China's Shandong Province.

The female calf died more than one hour after her birth at the Animal Embryo Project Center in Caoxian County, according to Saturday's China Youth Daily. Full Story

China's Second Cloned Calf Doing Well

China's second cloned calf, named "Keke" began walking Sunday morning after hours of medical treatment by scientists at the Shandong Zhongda Animal Embryo Engineering Center in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province.

Keke made its first "moo, moo" sound two minutes later after being born and drunk nearly 2 kilograms of milk within half an hour. Full Story

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China's Calf-cloning Technology at Advanced Level

China's Second Cloned Calf Doing Well

China's First Cloned Calf Confirmed Dead