Genomics and Animal Cloning

Both 'Human Genome Project(HGP)' and animal cloning from somatic cells will be listed as two important milestones in the history of life sciences.The success of HGP started the new era of genomics with two major perceptions that "life is in sequence" and "life is digital".Based on this belief,BGI has been focusing on sequencing and bioinformatics,aiming at analyzing genomes of "everybody in the world" and "every(living)thing on Earth" via vast collaborations.Since the birth of Dolly the sheep,successes have been made in cloning other mammals.With the main principle of reprogramming,somatic cell nuclear transfer(SCNT) is becoming the bond among genetic munipulation,stem cell and synthetic biology,making the 20th Century "The Century of Biology".Based on the information obtained from genomics and improved technology of handmade cloning,BGI has established an animal cloning platform,which focuses on: 1)generating animal models for human diseases as a strong tool for studying the mechanism and developing therapy methods of human diseases;2)livestock improvement for making life quality better.