Cloning of the giant panda, known as a "living fossil on Earth" may soon be achieved in China, a leading Chinese scientist announced recently in Fuzhou City, east China's Fujian Province.

According to Chen Dayuan, chief scientist of a panda cloning program under the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), if an implanted panda embryo can fully develop in the body of another species, cloning of the treasured creature will be realized.

According to Chen, there are three major obstacles to the successful cloning of giant pandas, namely, preparing panda embryos by fertilizing a somatic cell of a panda with an egg cell of another species, then implanting the embryo in the womb of the other species, and finally, making development of the embryo possible.

So far, Chinese scientists have overcome the first two difficulties and are working on the last one.

Successful cloning of the giant panda would be a significant step in saving the endangered species from extinction. Statistics show that there are fewer than 1,000 giant pandas living in the wild at present and the number of female giant pandas that can produce mature eggs is less than 100.

Experts say it is necessary to research trans-species cloning technology because it is unrealistic to carry out intra-species cloning of giant pandas due to the difficulty of obtaining recipient egg cells and the scarcity of the species.

At present, a bank of somatic cells of giant pandas has been jointly established by the CAS and two local giant panda research centers.

(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2002)