Cloned Monkeys Shed Light on Circadian Disorders

(China Daily, January 24, 2019)

The first five monkey clones made from a gene-edited parent with biological rhythm problems (circadian rhythms) were born during the last six months in Shanghai. The clones were created from the fibroblasts of an adult macaque whose DNA had been edited to remove a gene that helps regulate circadian rhythms. The researchers from the Institute of Neuroscience in Shanghai of the Chinese Academy of Sciences wanted to see if disorders showed up prominently in cloned offspring that lacked the regulation. The monkeys have shown a wide range of negative behavior including reduced sleep, elevated nighttime locomotive activities, dampened cycling of blood hormones, elevated anxiety, depression and schizophrenia-like behaviours. According to Mu-ming Poo, the research will additionally help reduce the quantity of macaques used in biological research.