China clones 10 healthy yaks in livestock breeding breakthrough

The milestone builds on China's first cloned yak, "Nam Co No 1", born in July 2025, and marks a shift from a "0-to-1" laboratory breakthrough to "1-to-10" replicable production, laying the groundwork for industrial-scale expansion, he said.

The technology works by genome sequencing nearly 9,000 yaks to identify top-tier "seed yaks" with desirable traits, such as those that grow quickly, are fertile, have strong immune systems, and can adapt to high altitudes.

Scientists then use somatic cell cloning to replicate these elite genotypes. The approach directly addresses long-standing bottlenecks in Xizang's yak industry, where genetic resources have been degrading for decades and traditional breeding methods are slow and inefficient.