World first: Chinese scientists create pig ...(cell. If the receptor is missing the vir...),Health

In addition to medical applications for pigs and humans, Dr Xiao said his discovery could be used to improve animal farming, not only by making the pigs healthier, but also by modifying the growth-related genes to change and improve the way the pigs grow.

However, Dr Xiao warned that it could take several years before some of the potential medical applications of his research could be used in the clinic.

The next stage of his research is to use the pig iPS cells to generate gene-modified pigs that could provide organs for patients, improve the pig species or be used for disease resistance. The modified animals would be either "knock in" pigs where the iPS or ES cells have been used to transfer an additional bit of genetic material (such as a piece of human DNA) into the pig's genome, or "knock out" pigs where the technology is used to prevent a particular gene functioning.

Commenting on the study, the journal's editor-in-chief, Professor Dangsheng Li, said: "This research is very exciting because it represents the first rigorous demonstration of the establishment of pluripotent stem cell in ungulate species, which will open up interesting opportunities for creating precise, gene-modified animals for research, therapeutic and agricultural purposes."

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