The Man Who Let Men's Dream Come True

Humans have always had a fascination with cloning. While some have vilified the idea, many others dream of it. Since 1905, people have researched this area. In 1997, a sheep named Dolly was successfully cloned from an adult cell, which put clone technology into the global spotlight. After that, Japanese and New Zealand scientists separately used ovary and oviduct cells in clone research, with their achievements adding several successful models to the global cloning technical research field. However, the goal of cloning cells of non-reproductive organs was still a dream.

On June 10, 1999, people's dream came true, shaking the global scientific circle. The person who threw out this " bomb" was the Chinese American scientist --Yang Xiangzhong. On that day, under Yang's management, the first cloned cow, Amy, a 94-pound Holstein heifer, was born.

Although, like other cloned animals, Amy was made from the DNA of an adult cell, what distinguished her from the famous sheep, Dolly, is that the DNA used to in her came from non-reproductive cells.

Amy's DNA comes from a 13-yearold (over 80 years in human age) cow's ear. Amy's genetic mother, Aspen, has already surpassed the normal child-bearing age, but its annual production of milk is as high as 35,000 pounds, twice that of an ordinary cow. Those two differences made Amy's birth even more valuable.

Soon afterwards, following the new millennium, Yang Xiangzhong and his research team reported another new achievement. They successfully cloned six calves again. This time they used a bull's ear cells, which they had cultivated for a long time. The important achievement they made this time was that they broke the traditional idea that only new or very young cells could be cloned. Therefore, Yang and his team developed a new way in the diagnosis of hereditary diseases and the treatment of organs and other parts of human bodies. This achievement shocked the world again, with the news media of every country reporting the event as headline material.

 In 2000, at the annual meeting of the International Embryo Transfer Society, more than 1,000 scholars coming from 42 countries called Yang Xiangzhong's achievement as one of the most important scientific and technological achievements in the 20th century, even much more important than the Dolly project, both scientifically and commercially..
 2nd-generation Bull Clone Successful

On May 23, 2004.Yang Xiangzhong announced another new achievement: a clone of a cloned prized bull thriving on a Japanese farm, living proof that "serial cloning" can successfully create life besides mice.

The second- generation cloned bulls were actually born on Jan. 23, 2000, and March 6, 2000 separately. Although one of the two calves died of anemia and infection shortly after birth, the second has survived over four years in apparent good health, indistinguishable from its naturally born peers.

Yang explained the reason why they held off reporting this major achievement until 2004, saying., "We wanted to be sure that the second generation bull clone could mature normally, and prove fertile with its health certain. Only then we should claim our success."

Yang also revealed that he and his team attempted to produce third-generation clones from the same bull, but their efforts failed after implanting 30 cloned embryos in 30 recipient cows.

Nevertheless, Yang is still extremely hopeful that his re-cloning work will help him uncover key genes responsible for the errors in his research.

 Biography of Professor Yang Xiangzhong

Yang Xiangzhong was born and raised in a rural Chinese village. Upon his graduation from high school, he joined the labor force in his poor village initially as a herdsman, then as a "barefoot" veterinarian (a veterinarian who travels to various regions to treat animals), and later as the deputy mayor.

Upon the re-instatement of the national college entrance exams in 1977, Yang was admitted toBeijingAgricultural University's Department of Animal Science in 1978.

With a prestigious national fellowship, he came to the United States in 1983 and received his MS and Ph.D. degrees at Cornell University in 1986 and 1990 respectively.

Following a short postdoctoral training at Cornell University in the areas of animal biotechnology in 1991, Yang was offered a research scientist position (which he accepted) to become a principal investigator and program director in Cornell's Department of Animal Science with the responsibility of developing a vibrant extramurally funded animal biotechnology program.

In June 1996, Yang joined the faculty of the University of Connecticut as Associate Professor of Animal Science and Head of the Biotechnology Center's Transgenic Animal Facility. In 2000, he was promoted to the rank of full professor.

In 2001, the University of Connecticut made an unprecedented decision to create a new center (the Connecticut Center for Regenerative Biology) for Yang (with Yang being appointed as the center's founding director) with five new faculty lines for a total investment of over US$20,000,000.

Yang Xiangzhong's achievements in cloning have caused a media sensation around the globe, and have been covered and profiled by all the major news media including the CNN Headline News, ABC, CBS, and BBC News as well as the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the US News & World Report and so on.
Yang has become a celebrity scientist in his field with a strong record of productivity and leadership. He has attracted over US$10 million in extramural funding for his research program and has published over 200 papers, including over 100 in top peer-reviewed scientific journals. His contributions to science is further acknowledged by more than 150 invited speaking engagements in the last 5 years in over a dozen countries as a keynote speaker at scientific conferences or symposia or as a seminar speaker.

Yang is an honorary or visiting professor in numerous institutions in China and itsTaiwanProvince, Japan, and Korea as well as several European countries. Yang has also been an advisor and reviewer for numerous federal and international funding agencies and he has organized or co-organized countless national or international scientific conferences and workshops.

 Building a Bridge

Professor Yang Xiangzhong has been concerned with his hometown. He has been devoted to the scientific and technological exchanges between China and America for many years . As early as 1988, Yang and several schoolmates initiated the " America Chinese Agricultural Association,", which aims to impel the exchange of Chinese and American agriculture science and technology. Yang became the organization's first president and director.

In 1992, Yang Xiangzhong served as the President of the "China-Cornell Fellowship Program," which is the predecessor of today's "China Bridges International" (CBI), consisting of a spectrum of fellowship programs to support the best qualified and most highly committed scientists, educators, and engineers in the United States and other western countries to develop collaborative projects of scientific research, teaching, and technology transfer with Chinese scientists.

As president, Yang successively collected US$2 million for the foundation. To date, the foundation has received more than 200 visiting delegations from China and has subsidized more than 200 scholars as well as students. CBI-supported projects have been very effective and productive, and have been highly appraised in both the hosting of Chinese participants and the participating western universities and institutions.

"The overseas scholars and students makes up a very big reservoir of talented people; therefore, we must do something to attract these people to return to the Chinese homeland to serve the country," Yang said.

Yang Xiangzhong believes that all Chinese people, wherever they are in the world, love their motherland. Through his "bridge," the dream of watering the flowers of China will no longer be merely in Chinese people's mind.