Giant Panda Tian Tian. Photo / Getty Images
Scientists are planning to clone the only giant pandas in the UK in a bid to save them from extinction.
The experts who cloned Dolly the sheep have taken tissue samples from Tian Tian and Yang Guang at Edinburgh Zoo and used them to grow more cells.
It is the
crucial first step in being able to make genetic copies of the endangered animals, of which there are only about 2,000 left in the wild and captivity.
Zoos find it notoriously difficult to persuade pandas to mate, and in March, Tian Tian was artificially inseminated during the short time of year she is fertile, but lost the cub during pregnancy.
Dr Bill Ritchie, who helped create Dolly and is involved with the new project through biotechnology firm Roslin Embryology, said: "The fact that you can grow cells is a step on the way.
