Lately, Chinese researchers have successfully cloned a rhesus monkey, a species renowned for being a subject of medical practice due to similarities in its anatomy and physiology with humans. This milestone not only marks a notable advancement in cloning technology but also holds implications for drug testing and disease modeling.

The rhesus monkey Retro was born on July 16th of 2020. Its birth signifies the achievement of primate cloning attained upon the previous success in cloning cynomolgus monkeys. Retro is only the second species of primate that scientists in the biomedical field have been able to successfully clone. The cloning method used, called somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SCNT for short, involves the reconstruction of unfertilized eggs by fusing a somatic cell nucleus with an egg from which the nucleus has been removed. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-67987633

With only one live birth out of 113 reconstructed cloned embryos transferred to surrogates, the success rate of primate cloning remained low. Nevertheless, despite most of the failed attempts, this procedure was refined to eliminate developmental abnormalities in early cloned embryos. 

The potential benefits of cloning in biomedical research are substantial; however, animal welfare organizations have recently raised the ethical issue of this technique, nonhuman primates in particular. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has pondered upon the liability of pain, stress, and high death rate as a result of the cloning procedures. They argue that ethical considerations are more than mere animal welfare to extend to even human cloning. Dr. Lluis Montoliu, a research scientist, argues the complexity and ethical justifiability of human cloning, as per the challenges faced in primate cloning experiments.

Ultimately, the successful cloning of Retro the rhesus monkey marks a significant milestone for medical science, with the potential to accelerate drug development, disease research, and others. However, it also poses concerns about the ethical dilemmas and societal implications of cloning technology.  

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