Prometea

Prometea (born May 28, 2003), a Haflinger foal, is the first cloned horse and the first to be born from and carried by its cloning mother. Her birth was announced publicly on August 6, 2003. Born 36 kg after a natural delivery and a full-term pregnancy in Laboratory of Reproductive Technology, Cremona, Italy,[1] Prometea at 2 months old weighed 100 kg (220 pounds).

The name Prometea is the feminine form of Prometeo ("Prometheus" in Greek).

Science

The horse is the seventh species to be cloned.[2] Dr. Cesare Galli and others at the lab experimented with 841 reconstructed embryos; of the 14 viable embryos four were implanted in surrogate mothers - only that of Prometea succeeded in being born. Texas A&M University was also undertaking a horse cloning project when the Italian team first succeeded. Horse cloning like Prometea could eliminate the problem of champion racing geldings. Jockey Club of North American thoroughbred horses has proclaimed, however, that it will allow no cloned horse in their races.

References

  1. ↑ BioCentre // The Centre for Bioethics & Public Policy
  2. ↑ (See Cloning for a list and names)