ATLANTA - Savoring a juicy, high-quality steak? Tell your waiter -- you might be able to eat the same exact cut of meat years from now. <br>
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Scientists at the University of Georgia have produced the first calf cloned from cells of a slaughtered cow, a breakthrough they say will allow cattle producers to select and clone the choicest beef from their stock. <br>
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The researchers Thursday introduced K.C., a healthy female Angus-Hereford cross delivered earlier this week. Her genetic material was extracted from the kidney region of a cow two days after it was killed. <br>
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Until now, calves had only been cloned from live adult cows -- before the adults were slaughtered and their meat graded. But you can't tell how good a steak will taste until you kill the cow. <br>
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The Georgia researchers hope their work will one day allow cattle producers to take the best beef from their lines, extract cells from those carcasses and use it to stock their herds. <br>
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The research was conducted in laboratories at the university in Athens, in conjunction with scientists from ProLinia Incorporated, an Athens-based biotechnology company. <br>
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It will take more study -- and approval from the federal government -- before the technology could be used for beef for mass consumption. But the research is a critical step, outside experts said. <br>
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The university plans to patent the technology used to clone K.C. -- short for kidney cell -- and license it exclusively to ProLinia, which says it wants to become the leading provider of ``superior genetics'' to the cattle industry.
