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Brief Communication

Nature Genetics 30, 253–254 (1 March 2002) | doi:10.1038/ng841

Early death of mice cloned from somatic cells

Narumi Ogonuki , Kimiko Inoue , Yoshie Yamamoto , Yoko Noguchi , Kentaro Tanemura , Osamu Suzuki , Hiroyuki Nakayama , Kunio Doi , Yukiko Ohtomo , Michiko Satoh , Akira Nishida & Atsuo Ogura

Here we report that the lifespan of mice cloned from somatic cells is significantly shorter than that of genotype- and sex-matched controls, most likely due to severe pneumonia and hepatic failure. This finding demonstrates the possibility of long-term deleterious effects of somatic-cell cloning, even after normal birth.