First gene-altered primate beats the odds

Oregon researchers’ triumph in slipping a bit of another creature’s genome into a monkey has proved that the feat’s possible, but even the bioengineers themselves caution that their technique may not be the best one for future monkey business.

The Oregon Regional Primate Research Center in Beaverton ignited a news frenzy last week with a 3-month-old rhesus monkey’s debut as the world’s first genetically engineered primate.