World’s first cloned cow Kaga dies in Japan
Tokyo, Oct 10: The world’s first cloned cow, named Kaga, has died due to natural causes aged 21 years and three months at the same research centre in Japan where it was born, government sources said on Thursday.
Kaga was born in July 1998 at the Ishikawa prefectural livestock research centre as part of a joint research project with Kinki University – now known as the Kindai University – using the same technology used to clone British sheep Dolly two years earlier, reports Efe news.
Twin cows Kaga and Noto were born as a result of Japanese research on bovine cloning, with the latter having died in May 2018.
Kaga, who died of old age (the normal lifespan of cows is 20-25 years), began to have problems standing up in September and was given nutritional supplements and an anti-inflammatory drip in its legs, officials of the research centre told local news agency Kyodo.
However, the cow could no longer stand in early October and was pronounced dead on Wednesday.
In 2006, a total of 14 cloned cows had been produced at the Ishikawa centre, but the research – originally aimed at improving the production of meat and milk – was scaled back after the distribution of cloned cow meat was restricted in the country in 2009.
The cloned cattle in Ishikawa have been kept to study the life expectancy among such animals.
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A R Rahman to receive Lakshminarayana International Award
Chennai (PTI): Music composer A R Rahman will be conferred with the Lakshminarayana International Award this year, the organisers of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival have announced.
The award, instituted to honour artists for their contributions to the field of arts, will be presented to Rahman at a special ceremony on December 15, according to a press release.
The event will serve as the curtain raiser to the 35th edition of the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival and will be held at Rasika Ranjani Sabha here.
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Rahman, a two-time Academy Award winner and one of India’s most celebrated music composers, has been credited with transforming the soundscape of Indian cinema. With over 150 million records sold and more than 100 film soundtracks and albums to his name, his work spans landmark films such as "Roja", "Bombay", "Dil Se", "Taal", "Lagaan", "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours".
Trained in Western classical music at Trinity College, London, Rahman established the Panchathan Record Inn in Chennai, one of India’s most advanced recording studios. He made a historic debut with "Roja", which earned him the National Award — the first of seven, the highest number received by any Indian composer.
Rahman is also a recipient of the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.
