Iran successfully clones its first calf: report

TEHRAN, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Iranian researchers have successfully cloned a calf, which is the first in Iran as well as in the Middle East, Iran's English-language satellite channel Press TV reported Saturday.

In this photo released by semi-official Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Iran's first cloned cow gets care from scientists  of the Royan Research Institute in the central city of Isfahan,  Iran, Saturday, July 11, 2009. Iranian scientists have become the  first in the Middle East to clone a cow as part of the country's  stem cell research, the leader of the project said Saturday. The  male cow, named Bonyana, was born Saturday in the city of Isfahan  in central Iran, said Dr. Mohammed Hossein Nasr e Isfahani, head  of the Royan Research Institute. (AP Photo/ISNA, Gholam Hossein Baharloo)

The cloned calf named "Bonyana," which means foundation and principle, was successfully born through a cesarean section at Royan Institute in central Iranian city of Isfahan after 270 days of pregnancy, Press TV reported.

Iran's ISNA news agency said the cloned calf was born on Saturday afternoon and the Royan Institute was hopeful to announce the birth of the second cloned calf in a few days.

According to Press TV, the cloned calf, which is the result of a considerable number of in-vitro fertilizations (IVF) in more than 100 recipient cows, is in good health.

Royan Institute researchers hoped to clone certain species at high risk of extinction in the near future, Press TV said.