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Chinese Firm Can Now Produce 500 Cloned Pigs Per Year

Sockatume writes "According to an article published by the BBC, Chinese firm BGI has refined cloning procedures to the point where they can produce 500 pigs per year, performing two embryo implantations per day with a 70-80% success rate. Much of the operation is concerned with producing genetically-engineered animals for research. The biotech firm's other work includes million-individual-scale animal and plant genetic sequencing."

156 comments

  1. Finally! by almitydave · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mankind's millennia-long dream for perfect bacon is nearing realization!

    --
    my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
    I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
    1. Re:Finally! by Razgorov+Prikazka · · Score: 3, Funny

      and now they are at it... why not implement some chicken DNA as well. Have bacon and egg`s in one go.
      Oh, and bread DNA, baked beans DNA, orange juice DNA, coffee DNA, newspaper DNA, naging wife DNA, sunrise DNA and some razorburn DNA and we are all set for the day!
      What a glorious future it will be!

      --
      rm -rf --no-preserve-root / ...and let /dev/null sort them out...
    2. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Fluorescent pigs are already a thing:
      http://www.thesleuthjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/glow-in-the-dark-pigs.jpg

      Bacon you can find in the dark!

    3. Re:Finally! by i+kan+reed · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Inviting the most downmods in my entire history of posting to slashdot, but bacon isn't that good, in fact being one of the least flavorful cuts of meat, and I wish the internet would come to terms with that fact.

    4. Re:Finally! by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      Mankind's millennia-long dream for perfect bacon is nearing realization!

      It's the exact same bacon, but does it taste better?

      "when i realized my breakfast bacon tasted precisely like my breakfast bacon of two months back, why, my MONOCLE POPPED RIGHT OUT!"

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    5. Re:Finally! by icebike · · Score: 1

      and now they are at it... why not implement some chicken DNA as well. Have bacon and egg`s in one go.

      Wait, wouldn't that open the floodgates of hell and lead to Avian Flu and Swine Flu combining into the Death and Breakfast Flu?
      Oh the humanity!

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    6. Re:Finally! by egcagrac0 · · Score: 1

      It's the exact same bacon, but does it taste better?

      It's probably not the exact same bacon. I expect terroir will come into play - minor differences in diet and season may produce obvious differences in the fat marbling and quality. Also, there's sure to be variance in processing (this batch was smoked with 7 year old hickory twigs, where that batch was smoked with 9 year old hickory sticks - the wood-to-bark ratio changes the flavor in subtle and mysterious ways...)

    7. Re:Finally! by Finallyjoined!!! · · Score: 2

      Heh, at least you're prepared for the downvote storm.
      A bacon & runny egg roll from a greasy spoon is the absolute best hangover cure. Certainly the tastiest.

      If you think bacon tasteless you're buying it from the wrong place, try a local butcher.
      Mine can be found here http://www.wards-meats.co.uk/products.htm

      --
      If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
    8. Re:Finally! by ackthpt · · Score: 2

      It's the exact same bacon, but does it taste better?

      It's probably not the exact same bacon. I expect terroir will come into play - minor differences in diet and season may produce obvious differences in the fat marbling and quality. Also, there's sure to be variance in processing (this batch was smoked with 7 year old hickory twigs, where that batch was smoked with 9 year old hickory sticks - the wood-to-bark ratio changes the flavor in subtle and mysterious ways...)

      I can't help but project the cloning of 500 pigs is pointless if you do not raise them on precisely the same diet, same amount, same schedule. Otherwise you could just leave it to nature to create 500 piglets for you.

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    9. Re:Finally! by Tukz · · Score: 1

      Don't buy the salted bacon at the local supermarket, go to the butchers.

      --
      - Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
    10. Re:Finally! by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      I mean, it's not "grilled chicken breast" level of flavorless that it can't stand on it's own, but even from pigs, bacon doesn't stand up to a good rib or loin.

    11. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Holy shit! Warn people before they click on links with backgrounds like that!

    12. Re:Finally! by egcagrac0 · · Score: 1

      They've already said that they can currently do two implantations per day.

      Assuming we get a 12 piglet litter per implantation, that's a result of 24 piglets per day... so all 500 won't be on the same schedule with the current production methods.

    13. Re:Finally! by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      I'm sorry, but "it's really good if you find a good source" is a claim that applies to every single foodstuff. I can compare supermarket apples to supermarket oranges, and still know my local farmers market does both better.

    14. Re:Finally! by Finallyjoined!!! · · Score: 1

      Depends how you cook it & the provenance of the bacon.
      Top tip: Try bacon from a local butcher's shop, dry cured & not pumped full of nasty salty water.

      --
      If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
    15. Re:Finally! by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      traditional smoked bacon from a good butcher is with out a doubt one of the most flavourful cuts of meat available (at least in my opinion). You are probably buying your bacon from a supermarket or cheap butcher.

    16. Re:Finally! by Finallyjoined!!! · · Score: 1

      Consider yourself lucky, they removed all the *blink* tags last year. :-)

      --
      If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
    17. Re:Finally! by Antipater · · Score: 3, Funny

      Breakfast Flu?

      In this country we call that a "hangover".

      --
      Everything is better with chainsaws.
    18. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the problem is the difference between supermarket bacon and bacon from a good butcher is worlds apart, they even use completely different processes in the curing of the bacon, really they are 2 separate products.

    19. Re:Finally! by Finallyjoined!!! · · Score: 1

      Spot on AC, the man says "you talk bollocks" but makes no apposite case.

      --
      If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
    20. Re:Finally! by reboot246 · · Score: 1

      You're going to have to do a lot better than 500 pigs per year. That's a drop in the bucket. When you reach tens of thousands per year get back to me.

    21. Re:Finally! by JanneM · · Score: 1

      I think that's the point, really: to make it taste good you need to cure and smoke it to the point where you could have used cardboard dipped in lard without noticing much of a difference.

      --
      Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
    22. Re:Finally! by BobMcD · · Score: 1

      Yep. My family's small time operation in the 90s produced well over 500 feeder pigs each year - no cloning involved.

    23. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But that is it you don't need to do that at all. good bacon is not over salted or oversmoked or particularly fatty. It comes from good pigs (not the mass produced shit the supermarkets buy). It is also many times more expensive than supermarket stuff.

    24. Re:Finally! by bloodhawk · · Score: 2

      Bacon is not like Apples or Oranges or even other cuts of meat. It doesn't just require a good quality source product (i.e. the pig), the quality vastly varies by the processes used for curing. So you are not just affected by the cheap quality meat when purchasing from supermarket, you are doubly impacted by their cheap rapid processing and poor quality curing to allow them to get it in the stores as fast as possible. This creates far greater difference between what you get from a good butcher and a poor butcher/supermarket. If you want to make food comparions you are better of comparing the differences between prepared foods rather than raw products.

    25. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have bacon and egg`s in one go.

      Oh, and bread DNA, baked beans DNA

      Oh, and bread DNA, baked bean's DNA

      There, FTFY. After all, if there's a word ending in "S" it needs an apostrophe, right?

    26. Re:Finally! by master5o1 · · Score: 1

      No no no, keep out the nagging wife DNA and the razor burn DNA.

      --
      signature is pants
    27. Re:Finally! by cavreader · · Score: 1

      These 500 pigs must be the second batch to replace the one's they found dead and floating down a river in China a few months ago.

    28. Re:Finally! by newcastlejon · · Score: 1

      I can't help but project the cloning of 500 pigs is pointless if you do not raise them on precisely the same diet, same amount, same schedule. Otherwise you could just leave it to nature to create 500 piglets for you.

      Feeding 500 pigs exactly the same diet, same amount, same schedule is trivial compared to creating 500 cloned pigs. Isn't that how many farmed pigs are fed now?

      --
      If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
    29. Re:Finally! by geekoid · · Score: 2

      You're wrong. In fact bacon can have a lot of flavor.

      Sadly, it's hard to find any restaurant that sells a proper bacon cut.. so you get a thin as paper tasteless piece of trash.

      Thick cut, cooked in the oven will give you tender and flavorful bacon.

      However, the bacon fad has , thankfully, peaked. becasue, you do not need bacon on everything.

      Nothing in my post should be taken as trying to get you to like bacon. Simply to point out that there can be very flavorful bacon.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    30. Re:Finally! by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      If you keep out the nagging wife DNA, you can't have any children.

      Unless...

      They also clone you! Genius!

    31. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you keep out the nagging wife DNA, you can't have any children.

      Unless...

      They also clone you! Genius!

      Hell, no. I'm not sharing my bacon, even with my clone.

    32. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually the economics of it means hogs are slaughtered long before the point of optimal bacon.

    33. Re:Finally! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Have bacon and egg`s in one go.

      Oh, and bread DNA, baked beans DNA

      Oh, and bread DNA, baked bean's DNA

      There, FTFY. After all, if there's a word ending in "S" it needs an apostrophe, right?

      No, not an apostrophe, a backtick (he wrote "egg`s", not "egg's").

  2. We already have enough police officers by Russ1642 · · Score: 4, Funny

    We already have enough police officers. We don't need a clone factory.

    1. Re:We already have enough police officers by icebike · · Score: 1

      We already have enough police officers. We don't need a clone factory.

      That's what you think. Robocop 2014 is being released next month.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    2. Re:We already have enough police officers by egr · · Score: 1

      Why do they make remake for movies that do not require remakes? Thanks for showing it.

    3. Re:We already have enough police officers by DigiShaman · · Score: 1

      Iron Pig!

      --
      Life is not for the lazy.
    4. Re:We already have enough police officers by cellocgw · · Score: 1

      Why do they make remake for movies that do not require remakes?

      Well, there's always this one

      --
      https://app.box.com/WitthoftResume Code: https://github.com/cellocgw
  3. Ok. by jellomizer · · Score: 1

    I am fine with cloning. Now heck even for food. Meat is meat. Still I think it is cheaper to take a male pig and a female pig and just raise them the old way and get just as good results for cheaper.

    If you have issues with cloning then you probably should have issues with identical twins.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Ok. by Charliemopps · · Score: 2

      Right in the summary is says these are used for research.

    2. Re:Ok. by ApplePy · · Score: 1

      Except they will be patented... and your bacon price will reflect licensing costs....

      --
      That I'm right, and you don't like it, doesn't mean I'm a troll.
    3. Re:Ok. by Victor_0x53h · · Score: 1

      If you have issues with cloning then you probably should have issues with identical twins.

      I probably have The Shining to thank for my hesitation in embracing cloned bacon!

    4. Re:Ok. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still I think it is cheaper to take a male pig and a female pig and just raise them the old way and get just as good results for cheaper.

      To which the obvious response is "But if nobody figures out how to do this, we'll never get to a future where cloned pigs can be bought for 3 a penny". After all, riding horseback is faster than that stupid steam-powered thing some guy in France created that only goes a 3 mph and keeps breaking down.

    5. Re:Ok. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For some of you that might be the case. I own part of a small farm that rears rare-breed pigs, sheep and goats.
      The bacon produced by the pigs beats anything you can buy in the shops especially what Americans call that apology for bacon that they grill until crisp.

    6. Re:Ok. by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 1

      Yes, yes, but is it gastronomical or gastrophysical research?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    7. Re:Ok. by Knuckles · · Score: 1

      If you have issues with cloning then you probably should have issues with identical twins.

      I would have issues with identical twins if they were industrially produced (and to be eaten no less) and posed a thread to non-cloned reproduction.

      --
      "When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
    8. Re:Ok. by maxwell+demon · · Score: 2

      Well, one danger in cloning is that it may hamper the diversity, and therefore may make the pigs more vulnerable to illnesses. This is not so much an issue if it's only animals for research, but if a large number of the animals for food are cloned, it's a real danger.

      After all, there's a reason why animals evolved to use sexual reproduction almost exclusively, although asexual reproduction is much more efficient. Sexual reproduction guarantees that the offspring has sufficiently diverse genetics that the illnesses can't too easily adapt.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    9. Re:Ok. by icebike · · Score: 1

      If you have issues with cloning then you probably should have issues with identical twins.

      I would have issues with identical twins if they were industrially produced (and to be eaten no less) and posed a thread to non-cloned reproduction.

      At only 500 per year, of even 100 times that, I don't think there is a problem. Remember that they still need to gestated in a pig.
      One boar and several sows can do that without all the drama.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    10. Re:Ok. by Knuckles · · Score: 1

      I'm not talking of the 500 now, but of where the whole thing shall lead to.

      --
      "When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
    11. Re:Ok. by mark-t · · Score: 1

      Well, one danger in cloning is that it may hamper the diversity, and therefore may make the pigs more vulnerable to illnesses.

      I saw what you did there...

    12. Re:Ok. by icebike · · Score: 1

      Given the same number of sows, subtract the scientists, the laboratory, the uncertainty, and one boar.

      It will always be cheaper to just breed them.
      The average litter size in pigs is between 8 and 12 piglets per large pig.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    13. Re:Ok. by bob_super · · Score: 1

      Until American taste for bacon means that the pigs can't even breed anymore.
      Like for turkey.

      Whether coned bacon would beat inseminated bacon is a question you need to ask to the guy extracting the male contribution...

    14. Re:Ok. by cusco · · Score: 1

      Keep in mind, these are not food animals but research critters. You don't want the variability of sexual reproduction when you're testing (for example) the effects of different combinations of multi-drug cocktails, or the interaction between different percentages of heavy metal contamination. The people who have created goats that produce desired drugs in their milk have had trouble with the inserted gene being bred out, cloning would prevent that.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
    15. Re:Ok. by Mitsoid · · Score: 1

      However, if you were doing a study on the effects of Drug X on Pigs (or any other animal).. having a dozen genetically identical pigs would be a huge benefit. I imagine it would make the statistical margins smaller.

    16. Re:Ok. by dwywit · · Score: 1

      Yep, and they'll be valuable for that purpose. I wonder what will happen to that value when the inevitable virus turns up/evolves that the cloned strain of pigs is susceptible to. If the cloned strain makes it out of the research labs and into food production (because the owner of the cloned strain decide they could make a lot of money selling the pigs for food), and one year they all die off because of a new version of swine flu or whatever, then logically the price of pork products will go up and up as demand increases on traditional sources.

      I can't help thinking of the parallels with GM corn, soy, etc, and the folly of monoculture crops. Certain multinationals breed them for desired traits such as yield, resistance to herbicides, and even resistance to known diseases, etc. Sooner or later a virus will evolve that those strains of corn, soy, whatever, have no resistance to. Will cloned pigs that are bred for desired traits (such as fast growth or a certain fat content) require long-term support along the lines of dietary supplements, drugs, etc?

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    17. Re:Ok. by newcastlejon · · Score: 1

      Yes, yes, but is it gastronomical or gastrophysical research?

      Waste not, want not.

      --
      If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
    18. Re:Ok. by geekoid · · Score: 1

      and if mass cloning production bring the price down so it's cheaper even with the fee?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    19. Re:Ok. by geekoid · · Score: 1

      " industrially produced "

      ah think the real issue is you have a non critiacl emotuon based feelings about undustrially produced items.

      " and posed a thread to non-cloned reproduction."
      yeah, research pigs are a real threat.

      You're just looking for excuses

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    20. Re:Ok. by dwywit · · Score: 2

      Ah, the ad hominem response. Please, educate me.

      Is it impossible or even highly unlikely that cloned animals would be susceptible to a new strain of virus, and die in large numbers?

      Is genetic diversity the best or at least one of the better defences against evolving disease strains?

      Are monoculture crops susceptible to large-scale die-off when a new or evolved virus appears on the scene? Hint - Irish potato famine.

      Is it smart to breed species that need long-term support to remain productive?

      Tell me where I'm wrong. I never said cloned pigs (or monoculture crops) are less nutritious or tasty than traditional or conventional supplies, but I have concerns about the long-term viability of clones and monoculture in our food supplies.

      BTW, I did say "I wonder" - that means I'm thinking about something. It's not an authoritive statement, my whole post was couched as a question, with some personal opinions thrown in.

      Try using your brain to respond to my statements, rather than attempting to insult and threaten me - you'll avoid looking stupid.

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    21. Re:Ok. by Knuckles · · Score: 1

      You would not feel uneasy if there was research into churning out industrially cloned identical twins?

      --
      "When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
  4. Great, more tech workers coming soon. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Attention H1Bs: you will have new competition from the chinese clones.

    1. Re:Great, more tech workers coming soon. by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Attention H1Bs: you will have new competition from the chinese clones.

      H1Bacon

      If they fall behind on a project, you can always place them between bread.

  5. Can I get a copy of myself. by Trachman · · Score: 1

    Reminds me the scene from the Star Wars were Obi wan Kanobi is visiting the clone breeding planet... So... Chinese scientist managed to get cloning at the industrial level, hope this is not too expensive. Does anybody know the name of this chinese firm? Can I send my salive and get a copy of myself in 9-10 months? How much that will cost?

    1. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by Russ1642 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Can I send my salive and get a copy of myself in 9-10 months? How much that will cost?

      Might I suggest a half-clone. They're way cheaper and a hell of a lot more fun to make.

    2. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by DougOtto · · Score: 1

      This is /. While you're statement is true, it's likely impossible for many regular posters.

      --
      Solving Unix problems since 1989...
    3. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by egcagrac0 · · Score: 1

      Can I send my salive and get a copy of myself in 9-10 months?

      Are you a pig?

    4. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently so is choosing the correct homophone.

    5. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by Njovich · · Score: 1

      Obviously never been married. On both advantages.

    6. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by Russ1642 · · Score: 1

      What does marriage have to do with it?

    7. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by icebike · · Score: 2

      Can I send my salive and get a copy of myself in 9-10 months?

      Are you a pig?

      Are you saying the same can't be done with humans?
      Are you sure its not being done already?
      70 to 80 percent success rate is high enough for more than a few women to choose this,
      to say nothing about with a gun to their head.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    8. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Baby Jebus will smite you down if you have sex before the church says you can.

      Killing brown folk in the middle east is ok though.

    9. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by OglinTatas · · Score: 1

      Also with a clone, when he turns out to be a disappointment you have no one to blame but yourself.
      With a half clone, at least you have plausible deniability

    10. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's nothing cheap about half clones. Maybe making them is inexpensive, but have you looked at the cost of college/university these days?

    11. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by bob_super · · Score: 1

      > Maybe making them is inexpensive

      Beforehand, there's champagne and flowers
      During the build, there are strawberries and ice cream
      And, like the local loop, the most expensive is the last few inches.

      If you have a factory in a third-world country, it's cheap, but the odds of issues are higher. If you have a first-world factory, even making them is expensive.
      The only part that's cheap is the checkout process when you are ordering.

    12. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by cusco · · Score: 1

      Considering the successful pregnancy rate of in vitro fertilization is considerably lower (~30%, the last I knew), and considerably more expensive ($10,000 per attempt), their technique might be a boon to infertile couples.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
    13. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by icebike · · Score: 1

      Considering the successful pregnancy rate of in vitro fertilization is considerably lower (~30%, the last I knew), and considerably more expensive ($10,000 per attempt), their technique might be a boon to infertile couples.

      But a great deal of that cost difference is Pigs don't sue. And if you mess up a sow, nobody cares.
      Infertile couples and lesbian couples. There are a hell of a lot more of the latter.

      --
      Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
    14. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It shares the cost. Not being married increases it.

    15. Re:Can I get a copy of myself. by cusco · · Score: 1

      Most lesbian couples will just go for standard artificial insemination, not many go to all the trouble of in vitro because there normally isn't a need for it. In vitro only becomes a consideration when regular inseminations (~60% success rate, about $1000 per attempt) fail repeatedly. For that matter, a lot of them will just have regular sex with a male friend a couple of times and be done with it.

      --
      "Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin
  6. Makin` Bacon! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sort of takes all the fun out of it for the little porkers?

    They trying to avoid Monsanto IP?

  7. scale up the process to produce.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a billion identical Chinese. Now we can confidently claim that they look alike! mod/flame me down.

  8. One disturbing aspect... by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    Although it sounds cool, I can't help but being a little weirded out by the thought of the exact same pig being experimented on endlessly throughout time...

    A little like the multiple Ripley clone scene from Alien Resurrection.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:One disturbing aspect... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      the thought of the exact same pig being experimented on endlessly throughout time...

      For the love of the God-of-Parents, please may it be Pepper Pig!

    2. Re:One disturbing aspect... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If you think that's a little weird, there's a line of cancerous cells used in research that came from Henrietta Lacks, who died more than 50 years ago.

    3. Re:One disturbing aspect... by bob_super · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, they will all be slaughtered by Arthur Dent.

    4. Re:One disturbing aspect... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The cloning process that contemporary laboratories utilize cannot implement a method to preserve the structure of the animal brain it has copied. It's simply the same process that can happen when identical twins are conceived in a mother's uterus. So no memories are retained, they grow like normal pigs in a pig womb.

    5. Re:One disturbing aspect... by Cow+Jones · · Score: 1

      Although it sounds cool, I can't help but being a little weirded out by the thought of the exact same pig being experimented on endlessly throughout time...

      Would you also feel weird about people experimenting on the exact same human for 63 years and counting, with no end in sight?

      --

      Ah, arrogance and stupidity, all in the same package. How efficient of you. -- Londo Mollari
    6. Re:One disturbing aspect... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Yes, I know that it's not literally the SAME pig with the same memories... but still, it's the same pig.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    7. Re:One disturbing aspect... by arobatino · · Score: 1

      Or the short story Fat Farm.

    8. Re:One disturbing aspect... by CanadianMacFan · · Score: 1

      I thought you were going to mention that the disturbing aspect seems to be they don't get weekends off. In order to produce 500 pigs a year they have to work every day.

      7 days a week * 52 weeks * 2 pigs a day * 70 % success rate = 510 (rounded up)

      Mind you if they get the 80% efficiency it looks like they could take one day a week off.

      6 days a week * 52 weeks * 2 pigs a day * 80 % success rate = 500 (rounded up)

    9. Re:One disturbing aspect... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If it makes you feel any better... if you clone a pig (or whatever, really), you don't get "the exact same pig", you simply get a pig with the same genetic makeup.

      Since our phenotypes (i.e. our physical and psychological characteristics) are NOT defined exclusively by our genetic information, you don't call a pair of genetically identically human twins "the exact same person", because they are not.

      In the same way, they are not experimenting with the exact same pig endlessly throughout time: they're simply experimenting with different pigs with a predictable (i.e. known, stable) genetic composition. The underlying logic is that, if you have an animal model that has a more consistent response to a certain stimulus (due to genetic homogeneity), it becomes easier and more valid to compare results across experiments.

      captcha: menace

    10. Re:One disturbing aspect... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Although it sounds cool, I can't help but being a little weirded out by the thought of the exact same pig being experimented on endlessly throughout time...

      A little like the multiple Ripley clone scene from Alien Resurrection.

      Even more weird would be when it happens to... HUMANS! Gasp! The thought that a teacher might teach a kid in a morning class, then another gene-for-gene replica of that kid again in the afternoon...!

      Even more weird would be if both are in the same class! You would see two identical looking kid sitting next to each other! GASP!

      Oh, wait, many teachers had already done that, they called those weird replicas a strange name... "identical twins". Somehow, the teachers never thought that to be weird, to have two humans with the exact same genes.

      Gee, I never saw anyone thought a pair of twins to be "exact same person". You got to go through some mental gymnastics to think that 2 cloned pigs are the "exact same pig".

  9. Can they clone sheep? by hessian · · Score: 4, Funny

    I always wanted a harem.

    1. Re:Can they clone sheep? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      winner. but on a serious note, pigs are quite smart, and certainly are quite aware of their life. experimenting with manipulating genes possibly causing hugely horrible situations for some of the subjects with an animal that can really grasp it seems really messed up. i realize that pigs are quite similar to humans in a lot of respects so they seem like a pretty good test case for potential gene therapies for humans but still seems pretty messed up. lol, clone retarded pigs at least. one with downs syndrome or something. what happens to pigs if they have an extra chromosome? is it similar to downs? odd....

  10. Farming via cloning will never happen by Gothmolly · · Score: 1

    Animals are good at farking. You won't beat that for efficiency.

    Now, whether or not they should be eaten is another matter.

    --
    I want to delete my account but Slashdot doesn't allow it.
    1. Re:Farming via cloning will never happen by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      yea, but evolution tends to make animals that are better at making more animals... and not make them more tasty and fatter. They'll eventually genetically engineer the perfect pig... 2000lbs of pure fat and bacon... then they'll clone the heck out of that because the damned things wont survive long enough to breed.

    2. Re:Farming via cloning will never happen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yea, but evolution tends to make animals that are better at making more animals... and not make them more tasty and fatter. They'll eventually genetically engineer the perfect pig... 2000lbs of pure fat and bacon... then they'll clone the heck out of that because the damned things wont survive long enough to breed.

      They've been raising and breeding pigs for lean meat for over a decade now. That's where the money is. It's not the bacon.

    3. Re:Farming via cloning will never happen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_insemination

      > Artificial insemination of farm animals is very common in today's agriculture industry in the developed world, especially for breeding dairy cattle (75% of all inseminations). Swine are also bred using this method (up to 85% of all inseminations). It provides an economical means for a livestock breeder to improve their herds utilizing males having very desirable traits.

    4. Re:Farming via cloning will never happen by timeOday · · Score: 1

      Look at dogs, we've churned out lots of species that aren't so good and surviving or reproducing, in order to emphasize cuteness or uniqueness or whatever.

  11. Can the turn themselves by db10 · · Score: 0

    ..into bacon?

  12. eating cops I mean pigs by fluffythdestroy · · Score: 1

    Any studies with the effect of eating meat from a genetically-engineered pig ? I know it's for research but cloning pigs for eating could be a temporary solution for over population as everyone knows that the bigger the city the bigger the need for meat. Or you can think of people who need food. this cloning tech could be a solution. Not the best one but better than nothing

    --
    PC Gaming enthousiast that gives comments, opinions and reviews on Games. I'm just having fun with games while doing let
    1. Re:eating cops I mean pigs by bws111 · · Score: 1

      How is cloning in any way more efficient than traditional breeding? This says they can do 2 implantations a day. I bet a regular pig farm can do way more than that.

    2. Re:eating cops I mean pigs by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      Cloning is not genetic engineering. By definition, the cloned pig is genetically identical (up to the normal mutations that happen during normal grow-up) to the original. If the original one was not genetically modified, then the clone isn't either.

      The effect of eating meat from a genetically engineered pig should depend on what exactly was modified. It may be more healthy (if it was engineered to be), more unhealthy (if it was engineered instead to have an advantage in farming, and the change has an unplanned side effect), just as healthy, or even outright deadly (if e.g. the genetic modification was for the pig to produce some medicine instead of for food, and you happen to be in a condition that this medicine kills you).

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    3. Re:eating cops I mean pigs by alexander_686 · · Score: 1

      Cloning increases the repeatability and eliminates the variances in animal research, and thus increases the efficiency of the research being done.

      If you are looking for eating animals – that is a pig of a different color.

    4. Re:eating cops I mean pigs by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Right. I understand the reason they are doing it (research), but the GP seemed to think that somehow cloning would lead to more food being available.

  13. Going bananas by gmuslera · · Score: 1

    The ability to clone (not specially genetic manipulation, but getting exact copies) should not be very dangerous. And we are doing some sort of it with bananas already, picking the best ones following certain criteria and cloning them. The problem, as with bananas, is that it will have the same vulnerabilities, if they become vulnerable to a particular strain of a disease and the industry becomes too dependant of the cloned ones instead of the "natural" ones.

    1. Re:Going bananas by vakuona · · Score: 1

      Well, it's not the cloning itself that is dangerous. It is what happens when this become the preferred method of producing all of our pigs. There are many strains of banana that are no longer available today because they all became infected with the same bug and well, we couldn't produce banana's that were very nearly like them, but a little different.

      Human being are very adept at creating monocultures, and this is one of the reasons that many parts of the world are now very famine prone. (Famine, not drought). We have already extinguished whole species - it's not a stretch to imagine us having exactly 20 pigs all of which we clone to produce exact copies. If disease strikes, all of those will be vulnerable in exactly the same way, and could be devastating to food production.

      We are already doing quite badly at biodiversity without the ultimate "doomsday" technology. I, for one, hope this doesn't become something widespread.

      Oh, and we think Monsanto is bad now. Wait until one company owns the patents to all the pigs in the world.

  14. Obligatory Piggly 3 reference... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Piggly 3
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJIqbMp3cY0

  15. Cloning sucks. by strstr · · Score: 2

    In other news, cloning is fun to know how to do, but totally worthless because it has no valid applications.

    You have cloning for food, but, why not just.. grow the meat on scaffolds to eat right then and there? Why clone or grow an entire animal, when you can just grow the meat and body parts you want to eat directly. Also, vegetables are better for people anyway, so why not just abandon meat eating entirely?

    Then there's cloning for sexual gratification. The idea of cloning a women or man for sex, who has the form of another the person wants to fuck. Well, that's selfish and totally purposeless, because who cares what types of perceived pleasure a person is having in their mind? It has like no benefit to the outside world, and doesn't get anybody shit.

    1. Re:Cloning sucks. by Another,+completely · · Score: 1

      In other news, cloning is fun to know how to do, but totally worthless because it has no valid applications.

      You left out the cloning to eliminate most variables when you give an experimental medical treatment to one animal but not to another. I'm surprised you thought about cloning sex slaves before getting to that one.

    2. Re:Cloning sucks. by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Wait, you never heard of 'eliminating variables'?

    3. Re:Cloning sucks. by maxwell+demon · · Score: 1

      So those pigs are going to solve out algebra problems? ;-)

      [Note to the humour-impaired: No need to educate me what was meant with "eliminating variables", I know it.]

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
    4. Re:Cloning sucks. by strstr · · Score: 1

      Well, cloning even for medical purposes is purposeless. Because medications are all inherently the same, we understand we're just usually blocking receptors and shit in the cells of tissue. They aren't ineffective, mutilate people, and don't cure. They're the biggest waste when it comes to health, but also the only treatment being made because it's so cheap and easy to dispense (magic bullet that doesn't do shit in a pill!). So because I know they do experiments like this a lot, using animals and meds on them, there's practically no reason to experiment with them.

      If they need to study cancer of something, there's no shortage of cancer to study in regular animals. And people. It's not like we need clones for that..

      And despite popular misconception about medicine, is much less complicated then it really seems because there are only so many possibilities. Therefore, it requires basically no experimentation, at least when it comes to clones. Also, today, experimentation is mostly done by low end noobs who have no understanding on what they're doing, or what they're looking for. It is done, but it is unnecessary. If we got organized a little more, and focused on medicine and treatments that were actually worth researching and worth designing instead of just randomly picking around looking for anything we can pass off as a 'blockbuster' medication or something, we wouldn't do it at all as much as we do. They do a lot of experimentation when they don't even have insight into the conditions they're studying without any actual reason to be doing it, it's all purposeless.

      I do see benefit in cloned organs, for transplants. But that can be done with scaffolds and stem cells, not requiring entire animals (normally). If someone wanted the perfect organ transplant they might grow an entire clone, cause it is al naturally grown..

    5. Re:Cloning sucks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I ran 'strstr' looking for any sense in your post and it came up NULL.

    6. Re:Cloning sucks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, vegetables are better for people anyway, so why not just abandon meat eating entirely?

      They're not, actually. At least not until they've been thoroughly processed to remove natural toxins. Sure, there are some fruits and veggies that can be eaten without processing, but nearly all meats can be (modulo a little heating to kill parasites.) Try eating castor or lima beans without prep. Or rhubarb leaves. And that's just from plants which are supposed to be edible. Others cannot be made harmless at all: certain mushrooms or toadstools, nightshade berries, oleander, daffodil bulbs, etc....

      No, safer to eat meat. Also more nutritious by weight.

    7. Re:Cloning sucks. by bloodhawk · · Score: 1

      In other news, cloning is fun to know how to do, but totally worthless because it has no valid applications.

      No valid applications?
      Consistent repeatable results in medical testing? eliminates genetic variables which can and do affect results
      producing foods with consistent desirable properties, not sure you have noticed but a good portion of the world is poor and or starving..
      cloning is also excellent research towards the ability to clone body parts for transplants to reduce complications and rejection.
      I am sure there are many many other highly valuable uses for cloning, just because you are too warped to think of anything but sex slaves doesn't mean the rest of us are as twisted as you.

    8. Re:Cloning sucks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The above nonsensical psychotic ramble was brought to you by Todd Giffen, formerly and so to be of the Oregon State Mental Hospital in Salem...

      Tell us, Todd, has the NSA made you masturbate in public today? I'm sure you'll tell us all about it on your Twitter feed...

    9. Re:Cloning sucks. by strstr · · Score: 1

      Mass producing vegetables is easier than mass producing cloned pigs. Literally, if we are going to grow something, it might as well be healthy farm fresh veggies. I also think that because there's no fat or cholesterol in veggies, and they're loaded with vitamins/antioxidants/minerals, that you would be healthier to stick to an all vegetable diet. People on these diets are already more healthy, leaner, and more energetic and suffer less diseases than meat eaters do, who are all fat, have blocked arteries, high blood pressure, and other conditions almost all linked to diet and lack of physical activity. Tooth decay and oral health is also worse in meat / suger eaters.

      I am not talking about giving people raw veggies, either. They should have ability to prepare the vegetables, steam them, butter, garlic and salt/pepper them to taste. Veggies when properly prepared make some amazing dishes, equal to or superior to meat ones. How about eggplant parm instead of chicken parm, for example? Or portabello mushroom burger instead of hamburger? Also, love buttered carrot, brocolli, and peas.. salids and sandwiches are also amazing.

    10. Re:Cloning sucks. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, how many times did you masturbate today? Did you do it in the park like you normally do? Will you tell us all about it on your Twitter feed, Todd Giffen, convicted and certified mental case?

  16. Deja Bacon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The feeling that you've eaten this bacon before :)

  17. GMOs and cloning are the devil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Go watch "Food, Inc." (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286537/) and stop buying GMO food now.

    1. Re:GMOs and cloning are the devil by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh good, the anti-intellectual, anti-science brigade has reached Slashdot.

    2. Re:GMOs and cloning are the devil by bombman · · Score: 1

      Last time I heard, cloned pigs display same variety in response to various tests (drugs, sickness etc.) as sibling pigs does.
      So they are not as similar as you might think. It takes a bit of the "dangers of cloning" out of the issue. I believe cloning
      should be limited to areas such clinical research, because if you replace pigs everywhere with very limited genetic variance,
      you're setting up a system that is rather vulnerable to diseases.

  18. Meh... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Call me when they can clone Jessica Alba...

  19. And when a serious disease strikes.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They'll nearly all be wiped out in one go, rather than some individuals being resistant through genetic variation and some not, as happens in nature.

    That's why thr plan for "million scale" implementations is utterly stupid.

    1. Re:And when a serious disease strikes.... by bws111 · · Score: 1

      The only thing 'utterly stupid' is you. Nowhere does it say they are going to produce a million animals. It says, quite clearly, that they are going to sequence the genomes of a million animals (and a million plants, and a million people).

  20. Ambrosia by Finallyjoined!!! · · Score: 1

    Bacon: Food of the gods!

    EOF.

    --
    If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
    1. Re:Ambrosia by ackthpt · · Score: 1

      Bacon: Food of the gods!

      EOF.

      if you lift your hands to heaven you will have bacon from 500 pigs...

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:Ambrosia by Finallyjoined!!! · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      Don't understand your post, is this a religious thing?

      If so; please count me out, I hate religion. Turns ostensibly sensible people into *nutters*.

      --
      If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
    3. Re:Ambrosia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Turns ostensibly sensible people into *nutters*.

      "nutters"? Is that something old people say? Who uses that word? You sound a little off yourself.

    4. Re:Ambrosia by geekoid · · Score: 1

      It's from a Rush song..so yes, it's a religion.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  21. wow the are making americans by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lol wow they are making americans

  22. So rude by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

    Chinese Firm Can Now Produce 500 Cloned Pigs Per Year

    So can Hollywood!

    Haw haw haw!

    So can a World of Warcraft clan!

    So can a university Greek fraternity or sorority system!

    Wait, wait! So can a biennial Congressional election!

    etc.

    --
    (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
  23. One word - Cavendish Banana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bacon will become extinct... the end of civilization as we know it is nigh.

  24. Favorite quote from article by PuddleBoy · · Score: 1

    "If it tastes good, you should sequence it"

    Fast forward 100 years and all livestock is cloned into 'taste-families': you can define the general palette of tastes you enjoy, and they produce it.

    OK, maybe only 30 years...

    1. Re:Favorite quote from article by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      The 6 flavors of Kevin's bacon?

  25. What Charlotte wrote by TheloniousToady · · Score: 1

    The next morning, there in the web, neatly woven, were the words SOME PIGS!

  26. Keep at it china! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Waiting in anticipation for the hybrid pig boy;

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftb09o6O7sw

  27. Not mentioned in the article by codepigeon · · Score: 1

    The original pig for the cloning was hired by a man named Tyranus.

    1. Re:Not mentioned in the article by Finallyjoined!!! · · Score: 1

      This is what I absolutely hate about both /. & wikishite.
      Nope, I'm not going to explain; if you have to ask you don't understand!

      --
      If I had an Ass, I'd call it Fanny Bottom, then I could slap my Ass; Fanny Bottom, on the Arse.
  28. Alibaba (Coming Soon TM) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cloned Pigs

    Minimum Order Quantity: 1.000 Piece/Pieces
    Supply Ability: 100.000 Piece/Pieces per Month

  29. Cloning pigs? by PPH · · Score: 1

    This is going to put the Kardashian family out of business.,

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  30. this explains by zakeria · · Score: 0

    all the dead pigs that have been found in lakes and rivers up and down the country-side!!!

  31. 500 pigs all subsceptible to the same diseases by dubist · · Score: 1

    Cool, trust the Chinese Generic diversity makes it harder for disease to take hold.
    Cloning removes that barrier.

  32. You missed it! by ackthpt · · Score: 1

    Re: if you lift your hands to heaven you will have bacon from 500 pigs...

    Peasant! Cretin! Varlet! Thou roynish shard-borne coxcomb!

    Click it: Linky

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  33. Just waiting for.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a member of the senate to take a trip to china to inspect the clone army.

  34. Jayne Mansfield Clones by Baldrson · · Score: 1

    Just wait till they start cloning (160+ IQ) Jayne Mansfields as a tourist attraction to their cloned cities like Hallstatt.

  35. Cells no, whole being yes. by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    To me it's just the aspect that it is the whole animal that gives me an odd feeling. It's not at all a rational division/ Just the dividing line that crosses into something seeming odd to me.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  36. God help us... by Darkling-MHCN · · Score: 1

    I can understand this being done in the pursuit of scientific research.

    But as food? What the hell is wrong with letting pigs f$#k?

    Eating cloned animals seems like it would have many completely unnecessary risks associated with it. The human body likes variety in its diet, moves towards homogenization of our food is not going to make us healthier.

    1. Re:God help us... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We're glad you understand.
      What's with the rest of the gibberish though?
      Oh you didnt even read the summary,ok then, I guess....

  37. For ... Research? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Most likely the Chinese are copying the Koreans and Japanese in using cloning techniques to produce animals for surrogate sexual intercourse to supplant the sex slave industries in the countries, respectively.

    Using pigs as sex slave surrogates illuminates contagious sex diseases as AIDS (the reason Obama will not go to Africa) and Syphilis, among lessor types.

    Clinically elementary Watson.

  38. Let's hope this could lead to human cloning by PC_THE_GREAT · · Score: 1

    I wouldn't mind having my own basement cloning labs to clone myself to harvest body parts off those clones and i could burn the rest of the shell.
    If only we could save a brain's state and reload that saved state on another identical brain :p, i could even get a new brain implant and destroy my aging body!

  39. in before hoax by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The last couple of cloning breakthroughs all turned out to be academic fraud. But hey, maybe this one's the real thing.