The birth of the world’s first cloned piglets with genes for Alzheimer’s disease produced by scientists at the University of Aarhus and University of Copenhagen won the prize for the best science news of the year 2007.

The competition was tough: the oldest DNA yet discovered, creation of the solar system, nanoparticles made of gold, cloned pigs with an Alzheimer’s disease gene, to name but a few of the exciting achievements that were in the running when the magazine Ingeniøren made its decision about what to choose as the breakthrough of the year in Danish science.

The pigs won. Seven little piglets that were born on 28 August 2007 in the pig house at Research Centre Foulum at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus. And just why are seven piglets born in Jutland so special in a country that annually produces about 25 million porkers?

The pigs are biotechnological novelties, first-of-a-kind-in-the-world pigs created combining frontline biotechnology in collaboration between the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Aarhus and the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen.

The seven genetically identical transgenic, cloned pigs – all carrying a human gene for Alzheimer’s disease – are expected to develop the disease and help scientists solve the riddles of the disease. The pigs can be disease models used in the scientists’ effort to find causes, early symptoms and methods for prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The seven little pigs were simply born to help humans.

More cloned, transgenic pigs with an Alzheimer gene are under way. The fact that such efficient production has become possible is due to a revolutionary cloning technique developed by the international scientist Gábor Vajta, who at the time was employed at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at University of Aarhus.

For further information please contact:

Scientist Peter M. Kragh, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, telephone: +45 6146 9289, e-mail: PeterM.Kragh@agrsci.dk (regarding cloning)

Associate professor, dr. med. Arne Lund Jørgensen, Department of Human Genetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Aarhus, telephone: +45 8942 1685/8942 1678, e-mail: alj@humgen.au.dk (regarding diseases and genetics)

The articles in Ingeniøren regarding the choice of the science news of the year and about the cloned pigs (in Danish)

Text and photo: Janne Hansen