Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer in Mammals (1938-2013)

In the second half of the twentieth century, scientists learned how to clone some species of mammals. Scientists have applied somatic cell nuclear transfer [5] to clone human and mammalian embryos as a means to produce stem cells [6] for laboratory and medical use. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a technology applied in cloning [7], stem cell research, and regenerative medicine [8]. Somatic cells are cells that have gone through the differentiation [9] process and are not germ cells. Somatic cells donate their nuclei, which scientists transplant into eggs after removing their nucleuses (enucleated eggs). Therefore, in SCNT, scientists replace the nucleus [10] in an egg [11] cell with the nucleus [10] from a somatic cell [12].