Cloning A Cat Isn't Enough, This Company Wants To Clone Its Memory

Cloning has always been a complicated matter of controversy since it was first addressed as a term of scientific studies. Considering the latest endeavor of cloning scientists, a Chinese firm namely Sinogene Biotechnology Company has successfully cloned a pet cat called “Garlic”. This case has ushered in a new area of cloning technology and market.

Garlic, with his lovely appearance, seems not to be the ultimate result that Sinogene aimed at. Though he inherited almost every visual thing from the original cat - a British Shorthair, Garlic is recorded to have a totally different personality, characteristics, and behaviors. The original cat’s owner, Huang Yu shared with Global Times the reason why he decided to have his cat cloned. Because of the urinary tract disease, his loved cat died and he couldn’t forget him. However, though Garlic looks exactly like the Huang’ cat with grey ears and a pink nose, it doesn’t mean that they share the same memories and personalities.

It is obvious that people want not only a copy but also a perfect copy inside out. At a press conference, Sinogene’s General Manager explained that the company is considering to use AI to transfer memories and consciousness from the original individual to the cloned one. He believed that it was the solution to bridge the mental gaps of two versions.

In terms of cost, cloning a cat will be priced at about Rs 26 lakhs. The amount for dog cloning is even more impressive, with roughly Rs 39 lakhs. Though the company claimed that a cloned pet like Garlic would live as long as other normal ones, it is widely believed that lifespans of clone pets would be shortened since they are more fragile. Besides, people also cast doubt on whether cloning violating ethical standards when there is a countless number of pets are still homeless.

In an attempt to save endangered species, the company is looking to work with nearly-extinct animal species. However, it means that their further studies would fall within the domain of interspecies cloning.