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Adult blood cells seem to be easier to reprogramme than stem cells.
By cloning two mice from cells fated never to divide again, researchers in the United States have defied the notion that cloning mammals is easiest from stem cells, or other cells that are still dividing.
In cloning, researchers use a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer, in which the nucleus of a cell, such as a skin cell, is inserted into an egg stripped of its own nucleus. This process is thought to reprogramme the DNA in the nucleus, effectively overwriting the genetic programme that makes it behave as a skin cell and replacing it with one that can orchestrate the development of an embryo.
