Canadian scientists led by Vett Lloyd from Dalhousie University have cloned an insect for the first time in the world — the fruit fly Drosophila, reports Korrespondent. \nAccording to Lloyd, everyone asks him the same question: why clone flies? \nTo this, the scientists reply that they hope that insects, with which it is very easy to experiment, will help precisely "tune" the process for other animals and even humans, as well as contribute to the production of stem cells. \nUsing cloned flies, the researchers want to identify genes that can be "reprogrammed" so that DNA promotes embryo growth. Although some groups of scientists had previously attempted to clone insects, success in this field has been achieved for the first time. Lloyd says the reason for their success is small changes made to the standard cloning process: the scientists used nuclei taken from embryonic rather than adult cells. Embryonic cells are much easier to reprogram than adult ones, Lloyd noted. In addition, he reported that his group is now working on creating clones from adult fly cells. \n