Scientists in Kashmir have cloned the first Pashmina goat using advanced reproductive techniques, officials at the Shere- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences &Technology (SKUAST) said on Thursday. The March 9 birth of female kid Noori could spark breeding programmes across the region and mass production of the highpriced wool, lead project scientist Dr Riaz Ahmad Shah said. Shah and six other scientists took two years to clone Noori, using the relatively new “ handmade” cloning technique involving only a microscope and a steady hand. “ We’ve standardised the procedure. Now it will take us half a year to produce another,” said Dr Maajid Hassan, another veterinarian who worked on the project, which was partly funded by the World Bank. The team has already started work on more clones among the university’s herd of goats. “ This is the cheapest, easier and less time- consuming” method of cloning, compared with conventional methods that use high- tech machinery and sometimes chemicals, Shah said. Pashmina, a kind of fine wool is obtained from the fleece of the goat Capra hircus . They are found in parts of the Himalayas, the Tibetan plateau and upper reaches of Ladakh. The wool is spun through a tedious manual processto produce the finest quality of Pashmina.
Source: Ananta-Tech
