Japan scientists clone legendary bull (Mammoths next?)

www.physorg.com ^ | 01-08-2009 | Staff

[Red Badger]

Japanese scientists said Thursday they had successfully cloned the ancestral bull of a luxurious brand of beef, possibly opening the way to distribute cloned beef.

At the start of the Year of the Ox, researchers announced they had kept frozen for 13 years the testicles of a bull named Yasufuku, the progenitor of the expensive Hida-gyu brand of beef in central Gifu prefecture.

The researchers at Kinki University and Gifu's livestock research institute said they had cloned four Yasufuku calves between November 2007 and July 2008, although two of them died afterward.

"Yasufuku's testicles were frozen for a decade without any special treatment," the team said in a statement, calling it a breakthrough as specimens used for cloning are usually preserved carefully.

Japan has a variety of beef marketed as high-end. Ranchers sometimes massage the animals or feed them beer while they are being raised for slaughter.

A Japanese government panel is studying the safety of cloned beef and is reportedly leaning towards allowing it. US and European safety authorities last year gave the go-ahead for sales of food from cloned animals.

But the researchers said that for now they planned to use cloned animals to study what kinds of gene and protein structures make tasty beef rather than applying them directly to produce food.

Kinki University said it also hoped to advance an ambitious long-term project -- to restore extinct animals.

"Our dream is to create a mammoth, although it is a big dream," said Kazuhiro Saeki, professor at Kinki University.

To revive the huge Ice Age mammal, researchers would need to find a way to implant a cell nucleus into the egg of an elephant -- the mammoth's closest modern relative -- and then implant it into an elephant's uterus.

[vetvetdoug]

I wonder if Kinki University can clone Vivian Leigh for me?

[Bender2]

Re: ...had kept frozen for 13 years the testicles...

Whoa.... Momma!

You're tell... me?

BTW in case of red X above, go to http://www.avenuevine.com/archives/HeritageBull-w.jpg

[Red Badger]

Well, frankly my dear...............

[Bender2]

Re: I wonder if Kinki University can clone Vivian Leigh for me?

And they called me... efing goofy!

hey, I certainly... enjoyed it!

If you call me Shirley once more... she'll be efing a dead Goofy!

In case of Red Xs above go to:

http://www.divasthesite.com/images/Vivien_Leigh/Vivien_Leigh_intro.jpg

or

http://api.ning.com/files/IFQ5zoE4sLWCQGV7PKDYZTkGUrpmZyD1OBbHgK7JrBQ_/goofy.jpg.w300h418.jpg

[blackie]

Tough duty, but someone has to do it.

[big'ol_freeper]

Growing up in New England, on occasion I sure froze my...um..never mind.

[SunkenCiv]

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	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks Red Badger. researchers announced they had kept frozen for 13 years the testicles of a bull named Yasufuku The jokes just write themselves. Uh, what I meant to say, this is 13 years vs 13,000. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
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[SunkenCiv]

Kinki University...

[xcamel]

the first “u” would have to be an “i”
Proper Japanese

[DevNet]

That is because one doesn’t grind up that sort of meat. Kind of like putting ketchup all over a very good American steak.

[allmendream]

One would expect that a Pachy would have fun with this thread, but you are having TOO much fun! ;)

[Arguendo]

Yeah, it’s one of those things you do for the novelty (when the firm is paying).

[allmendream]

A prize bull gets ‘milked’ quite a bit.

A girlfriend of mine’s family used to raise Hungarian Vishla’s, I was there when the vet tech came by to collect from a couple of the prize sires. She was good at her job.

[allmendream]

I want to meet a sweet biotech grad from Kinki University!!! And now I HAVE to get and wear a sweatshirt!

[djf]

There is zero chance that man drove the mammoths to extinction.

Man did not freeze ten thousand or so of them in the ice in Siberia.

[Texas Songwriter]

ONe of the great bucking bulls of all time.

[Old Student]

“In this case, Man caused their extinction. You know those idyllic, hunter-gatherer groups that lived in perfect harmony with the environment? (The Indians were doing a good job on the bison too, before the Europeans introduced the horse to America!)
I think the mammoths and mastodons should be restored. As long as they’re kept away from human population centers, I don’t see a problem.”

NO,NO,NO! Didn’t you see the memo? It was a comet strike between 11-13,000 years ago! No peaceful hunter-gatherer tribes involved at all!

Personally, I think it was a combination of the two. Stampede the monsters off a cliff, or even into a reasonably deep ravine, and you could feed a tribe for as long as the meat lasted, and then hunt the scavengers that came to help you out with all that rotten meat. That could be a while if it was really cold.

Like wolves, and bears, I’m OK with elephants and such (and creatures who resemble them) wandering freely about. As long as it’s not in MY neighborhood! ;) Sound like an environmentalist, don’t I?

[wildbill]

Dare I say the bull was cold cocked to enable the procedure?

[SunkenCiv]

The sad part is, the bull is still alive — and he’s pretty ticked off at some researchers we could name.