Royan, a renowned Iranian institute working in the field of biomedicine, has cloned a type of wild ram that is in danger of extinction, the institute’s chief said.
Mohammad Hossein Nasr-Isfahani, the head of the Isfahan-based Royan Biomedicine and Stem Cells Institute, announced in a press conference on Tuesday that researchers of this institute have succeeded in cloning Qamishloo Wild Ram, an endangered Iranian species, Tasnim News Agency reported.
"Named Maral, the newborn cloned ram, is now in perfect health and kept on Royan Research Institute’s farm," he said.
Nasr-Isfahani further said only three Asian countries—South Korea, Japan and China—have the technology of cloning endangered species at their disposal, and Iran is now the fourth country in Asia to achieve the capability.
"Currently, scientists in Royan Biomedicine Research Center are trying to reproduce the Asiatic cheetah and Persian leopard using the same method," he said, adding that they have already made some progress.
Royan had earlier cloned a lamb named Royana, which was born on September 30, 2006, after many successful experiments in the institute. They also cloned a first goat on April 15, 2009, at Royan Institute by cesarean section.
Iran in recent years has made considerable headway in various scientific fields, including biotechnology, satellite technology and nanotechnology.
Back in January, when visiting an exhibition of Iran’s latest achievements in the fields of nanotechnology and biotechnology, the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei hailed the country’s scientific progress, which is higher than the world’s average.
