Scientists on verge of designing and cloning superhorses with CRISPR-method.

[DetlefK]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/12/26/genetically-engineered-super-horses-born-2019-could-soon-compete/

Scientists in Argentina successfully used a powerful DNA editing technique called Crispr to rewrite the genomes of cloned horses.

Healthy embryos were produced following the procedure, which the researchers plan to implant into a surrogate mother within two years.

The team focussed on boosting the myostatin gene sequence which is crucial to muscle development, endurance and speed.

Theoretically, animals designed in such a way should be able to run faster, for longer, and jump higher more easily.

Traditionally the same traits would be achieved by breeding animals which already exhibited desirable features. But it can take many generations to develop a beneficial trait.

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The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) lifted the ban on cloned horses participating in international events in 2013. This was done because it was found that cloned horses didn’t hold a massive advantage over the horses which were raised in the traditional method.

However, no cloned horses competed in the Olympics as of yet, the report stated.