However, funds for a grant to research animal cloning at ISU are pending. I look forward to seeing the new related technology evolve. He works with in-vitro fertilization in petri dishes with animals such as sheep, goats, cattle and pigs. The embryos are frozen and stored in embryo banks. Animals with superior genetics can be created and raised by surrogate females.
Youngs hopes to understand and improve the survival of embryos.
This work could benefit Iowa livestock producers by maintaining greater female productivity and reducing the number of females needed to maintain current output, he said. Every time a species or a breed is lost, valuable genetics may also be lost, Youngs said. Researchers are able to save the genetically elite characteristics of these animals when they intervene with genetic development to control the benefits. For the last 10 years, Chris Tuggle, an ISU associate professor of animal science, has worked with transgenetic mice. His work takes foreign genes from one organism and places them into the mice.