Cloned cow "Shuang Shuang" gave birth to a female calf Wednesday night in east China's Shandong Province.

The calf, "Jian Jian", is 72 centimeters long, 76 centimeters tall, and measuring 80 centimeters round the chest, and weighs 38 kilograms.

All the physiological indices of Jian Jian were normal with a heart rate of 180 beats per minute and temperature at 39.3 degrees Celsius, according to scientists at the Laiyang Agricultural College on Thursday.

Scientists agreed that the birth of Jian Jian proved that cloned cattle had normal reproductive abilities.

"It signifies a big step forward in China's research into clone cattle technology," said Dr. Dong Yajuan at the animal embryo center of the prestigious college.

Dr. Dong said the research was of great importance in promoting embryo ecology technology development and its industrialization.

Following the birth of the first two somatic cell cloned cattle,"Kang Kang" and "Shuang Shuang", in November 2001, the center has been closely monitoring every aspect of their development, including reproductive ability.

On Jan. 11 and 16 this year, scientists artificially fertilized Shuang Shuang and Kang Kang with frozen sperm from a sturdy black bull in Beijing. Both became pregnant and Kang Kang was expected to give birth in the near future.

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2003)