Corporate America to the forefront of technology.

The Technological Institute of Chascomús (INTECH) belonging to the University of San Martín, CONICET and thanks along with the full support of Arg Natural Beef, a company member of Corporate America, successfully cloning the 2007 National Grand Champion, race Brangus.
The birth of the calf caused a stir in the scientific community and entrepreneur. Managers of America Corporation, led by President Eduardo Eurnekian, showed their great satisfaction and recalled that earlier, and also next to INTECH and CONICET, cloning was performed Plum, a product which Ciruelitas born.
"We have a policy of investing in biotechnology and mastering the technique of cloning is fundamentally says Carlos Marietti, ARG Natural Beef. The idea is to try to reproduce the animals of greater genetic merit and we intend to move forward with this same in horses. We are satisfied, because although the response is not yet economic, mastery of this technique gives a future projection that has much potential. "
For its part, INTECH researcher Adrian Mutto said the new calf is an almost identical replica (obtained by cloning) of the 2007 National Grand Champion Brangus breed and also, for the first time in the country, is done a replica of a cow that had died before the pregnancy began his clone.
"This is the first successful in the country of a dead animal," he says with pride Mutto undeniable that along with Germain and Nicolas Mucci Kaiser had managed to play at Plum, also a Grand Champion, a copy identical Ciruelitas, was the first clone Brangus the world. What matters is that we recover all the genetic potential of these animals. The owner had already lost and we give it back. "
As Plum, the new calf was obtained under a technology transfer agreement between the University and the Natural Beef ARG company belonging to the group America, which funds the project with an investment of $ 250,000, some of which were for the micromanipulators and high-precision equipment that requires this technique.
Immediately after the cow died original Mutto received a small piece of tissue. "We established a cell culture [fibroblasts] and cryopreserved until use [in a drum of liquid nitrogen to 196 degrees below zero]. Then we perform several maneuvers until it obtained nuclear transfer embryos that were implanted into recipient females. "
Only two pregnancies were needed to finally obtain the cloned calf. To get an idea of the skill of Argentine scientists and technicians, it suffices to mention that to clone Dolly, the sheep that started this story, it took 280 transfers. The current average is between 5 and 10% of positive results. "Overall, within the framework of this program, we transferred 23 embryos and got four animals live births, which means we had a 17% efficiency," points out Mutt.
For Daniel Salamone, Faculty of Agronomy, UBA, the most attractive thing is that this achievement has been reached in a national university. "The state has been making great efforts in research, but still need more and more companies opt to do developments in the country," he says. Those who already did a test are eligible. "
Of course, livestock enterprises can have a high quality rodeo "in the freezer" gives them commercial opportunities hitherto unimagined. But for those who wonder if these techniques are applicable to cloning human beings, the answer is simply no.
"Beyond a mere advertising with serious ethical problems (which, moreover, would end the careers of the scientists involved), there is no reason to do it," says Dr. Lino Science Minister, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Productive. We are not just products of our genes: can not replace a lost child or a hero of the past. The clone would be another person, period. On the other hand, there is a safe technique. These animals sometimes do not survive beyond a few hours, or have impaired genetic reprogramming. In addition, each species presents new challenges, in fact, the technique still could not be reproduced in primates. In cows, sheep and horse sense, but we can be assured they will not report any human cloning. "Significantly, the successful businessman Eduardo Eurnekian, participated in the project.