2. New research at North Carolina
State University’s College of
Veterinary Medicine indicates that
cloned pigs can have the same
degree of variability in physical
appearance and behavior as
normally bred animals. Two separate
studies show that while clones are
genetically identical to the original
animal, the similarities end there.
3. This dispels the commonly
held notion that cloned
animals retain the physical
and behavioral attributes of
the animal from which they
were cloned. The research
was conducted by Dr. Jorge
5. Piedrahita says the implications are far-
reaching. “The technology of cloning has
been sold to the public as a way of
creating a group of identical animals
and, as such, there are companies that
have been set up around this concept,
especially for pet cloning. The
implication is that your cloned pet is
going to behave and look like the one
you already have – and that will not be
the case,” he said.
6. “We demonstrated in our behavioral
paper that the behavior of clones is
not identical. They are not
homogeneous, so you cannot expect
your cloned pet to behave like your
original pet, even discounting
environment. We’ve cloned animals
that were raised in the same
environment and they still didn’t act
the same,” Piedrahita said.
7. Piedrahita says scientists
must be very careful with
cloning, since genetic errors
can be introduced into the
DNA of the clone during the
process.
8. “While clones are genetically
identical, physical
characteristics such as size,
weight and hair type may not be
the same because the DNA has
been modified during the
cloning process in such a way
that it affects the activity of
certain genes,” Piedrahita adds.
