Isfahan(Iran), July 12: Iranian scientists have become the first in the Middle East to clone a cow as part of the country’s stem cell research, the leader of the project said today.
The male cow, named Bonyana, was born today in the city of Isfahan in central Iran, said Mohammed Hossein Nasre Isfahani, head of the Royan Research Institute.
Besides its nuclear activity and nascent space programme, Iran has sought to highlight advances in other technologies such as cloning and medicine. The government set a goal to become a regional leader in advanced sciences and technology by 2025.
In 2006, Iran announced it had cloned a sheep and in April it said it cloned a goat, Hana.
“With the birth of Hana, Iran proved its technological advances in stem cell research. This is the first cloned cow in the Middle East.
–PTI