The Genetic Cloning Process
Before we discuss the possibilities of human genetic cloning we must first understand exactly what cloning is and the different types. Not all forms of genetic cloning are associated with cloned babies and Frankenstein tomatoes, other forms of cloning have been used in our laboratories reliably for a number of years and have provided a wealth of insight into our understanding of genetics.
The three type of cloning are recombinant DNA cloning, reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning. Lets consider each one of these in turn.
Recombinant DNA cloning or gene cloning refers to the process by which a fragment of DNA is transferred from one organism to a self-replicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid or a virus. Plasmids are self-replicating extra-chromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome and can be used to make many copies of the gene. These genetic elements can then be inserted into a cell of interest and the function of the gene of interest studied.
Reproductive Cloning Process
Reproductive cloning refers to the process by which an animal is created which had the same nuclear DNA as a previously existing animal. This is accomplished by the removal of the DNA containing nucleus of an egg and its replacement by the DNA from another cell. The egg is then stimulated to divide and following a number of divisions it can be transferred into the uterus of a suitable female host until its birth. Reproductive cloning has been around for a number of years, with the tadpole being the first animal to be cloned in 1952. However the advent of Dolly the sheep, the first large mammal to be cloned by Scottish scientists in 1997, led to the belief that one-day humans might be cloned. Cloned animals are not exact twins however as despite sharing copies of the nuclear DNA, another source of DNA the mitochondria are derived from the original egg. This may be of consequence as mitochondrial DNA is believed to play a role in the aging process. A significant problem of reproductive cloning is its inefficiency, more than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce viable offspring. In addition little is known of the long-term effects of cloning with many cloned animals dying prematurely.
Therapeutic cloning Process
Therapeutic cloning, or embryo cloning refers to the production of human embryos for research purposes. The goal of this is not to create cloned babies but to harvest the stem cells of the embryo that have the potential to develop into almost any cell in the body. The extraction of stem cells from the blastocyte form of the egg results in its destruction. This obviously throws up a number of ethical issues however researchers believe that these cells can be used to treat diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Human Cloning
The idea that scientists can `play God` is horrifying to all however the possibility to fight disease and alleviate the medical hardships of people should not be overlooked. Properly monitored with continued research, the technology of cloning can and will provide us with the means to deal with the medical issues of the twenty first century.
The Genetic Cloning Process
Before we discuss the possibilities of human genetic cloning we must first understand exactly what cloning is and the different types. Not all forms of genetic cloning are associated with cloned babies and Frankenstein tomatoes, other forms of cloning have been used in our laboratories reliably for a number of years and have provided a wealth of insight into our understanding of genetics.
The three type of cloning are recombinant DNA cloning,
reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning.
Lets consider each one of these in turn.
Recombinant DNA Cloning Process
Recombinant DNA cloning or gene cloning refers to the process by which a fragment of DNA is transferred from one organism to a self-replicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid or a virus. Plasmids are self-replicating extra-chromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome and can be used to make many copies of the gene. These genetic elements can then be inserted into a cell of interest and the function of the gene of interest studied.
Reproductive Cloning Process
Reproductive cloning refers to the process by which an animal is created which haad the same nuclear DNA as a previously existing animal. This is accomplished by the removal of the DNA containing nucleus of an egg and its replacement by the DNA from another cell. The egg is then stimulated to divide and following a number of divisions it can be transferred into the uterus of a suitable female host until its birth. Reproductive cloning has been around for a number of years, with the tadpole being the first animal to be cloned in 1952. However the advent of Dolly the sheep, the first large mammal to be cloned by Scottish scientists in 1997, led to the belief that one-day humans might be cloned. Cloned animals are not exact twins however as despite sharing copies of the nuclear DNA, another source of DNA the mitochondria are derived from the original egg. This may be of consequence as mitochondrial DNA is believed to play a role in the aging process. A significant problem of reproductive cloning is its inefficiency, more than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce viable offspring. In addition little is known of the long-term effects of cloning with many cloned animals dying prematurely.
Therapeutic cloning Process
Therapeutic cloning, or embryo cloning refers to the production of human embryos for research purposes. The goal of this is not to create cloned babies but to harvest the stem cells of the embryo that have the potential to develop into almost any cell in the body. The extraction of stem cells from the blastocyte form of the egg results in its destruction. This obviously throws up a number of ethical issues however researchers believe that these cells can be used to treat diseases such as heart disease and Alzheimer's.
Human Cloning
The idea that scientists can `play God` is horrifying to all however the possibility to fight disease and alleviate the medical hardships of people should not be overlooked. Properly monitored with continued research, the technology of cloning can and will provide us with the means to deal with the medical issues of the twenty first century.
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Date Added: Monday 16th November 2009
"HOw can you not believ in god"
rocket man
Date Added: Tuesday 11th August 2009
"I think people should take Cloning more seriously and not just perceive it negatively as it is about "playing God." Cloning could very much alter the world in a couple of years. (Admin: Does God clone anyway? I guess with the whole Adam rib thing you could say so...)"
support cloning.
Date Added: Tuesday 16th June 2009
"ok guys about this playing god stuff, seriously how can someone play god. ok ill admit i do not believe in god but even if i did does the human race not have to evolve and better itself to survive. this may mean taking advantage of mother nature to the best of our abilities. "
dude
Date Added: Thursday 21st May 2009
"cloning should not be continued, because we are already overpopulated as it is so if we start cloning, think how much more we will be destroying our earth. this will also move us faster towards the end of the earth. i think this should be discontinued and all reaserch distroyed."
Alanah
Date Added: Friday 3rd April 2009
"Cloning will allow those of the future do live longer is that not what most of us are looking for a long and full life."
Surging
Date Added: Sunday 15th March 2009
"Good but not enough......."
Farrah_Nahrain University
Date Added: Wednesday 4th March 2009
"Childish and ilresearched, next time when you do some thing like that, do your research so i don;t waste 5 min of my time reading this worthles article made for the ignorint that doesnt know anything about cloning. "
Kellen harvad university science
Date Added: Wednesday 4th March 2009
"kind didn't help. Do your research, this topic was wrong and stupid, either try to make a good topic or dont post it at all. :("
Kellen harvad university science
Date Added: Wednesday 4th March 2009
"I found this page informative... but I would like to know if there has been any HUMAN cloning that has worked but has been kept quiet"
sarah
Date Added: Monday 2nd March 2009
"it helps alot"
daniela
Date Added: Tuesday 24th February 2009
"My name is Holly L. Holden, a current student at James H. Groves adult Education, and I am writing a paper on the process of cloning. However, my opinion on the matter is that I do not support the idea of aborting human life ( even if it was not in the womb of a woman), but at the same time, I want to see all the suffering people in this world to finally have an alternative solution to their suffering. "
Holly L. Holden
Date Added: Monday 8th December 2008
"This was not helpful at all except knowing the basic definitions of the three different types of cloning. I was looking for more details like the two different views of the three types of cloning."
Ara
Date Added: Monday 24th November 2008
"I'm a yr10 high school student in australia. For a research report on cloning, this is quite helpful. It doesn't give much info though so i had to investigate some of the processes further. but thanks anyway."
Grant, Aussie Yr10 student
Date Added: Sunday 9th November 2008
"We should take genetic enginering very seriously and cautiously. This could very much alter the world as a whole that we live in today."
Anonymous
Date Added: Monday 27th October 2008
"not very intersesting!! didn't really help me!!"
Zoe'
Date Added: Thursday 18th September 2008
"im doing a senior thesis on Cloning and to be honest i know nothing on it is there a way to dumb it down for me"
tyler
Date Added: Saturday 6th September 2008
"Cloning is immoral ans should be stopped immediately. It kills embryos, which is an early stage of a baby's life in the womb. God is the creater. We have no right to create life. Therapeutic cloning has a high risk of rejection and can produce cancers and tumors. All cloning is wrong. "
Emily
Date Added: Sunday 3rd August 2008
"Cloning is the answer for today's demand. With this latest brainchild of human, we should be able to combat poverty and malnutrition. "
Andy
Date Added: Sunday 13th July 2008
"I need to know the exact method in cloning for a research project. Can you supply this for me?"
anon
Date Added: Tuesday 24th June 2008
"cloning is a good process of helping to save peoples lives but on the other hand it is a negative point because your playing with god."
farah
Date Added: Friday 23rd May 2008
"This cloning page was great . I really liked it because of its content. it is incuding all important information in a little word that was main reason i liked it."
Magan Vashisht
Date Added: Thursday 8th May 2008
"Very interesting and useful Thanx XD"
anon
Date Added: Saturday 19th April 2008
"Can you clarify what really does hormone play the role in the cloning process ? And it is really important as the DNA in this process ????"
tan...
Date Added: Wednesday 16th April 2008
"This site didn't help me at all. Waste of time browsing through"
Sign
Date Added: Friday 11th April 2008
"i found thjis very instesting. its just what i needed for a project i\'m doing in shcool"
jono
Date Added: Thursday 27th March 2008
"thanks, awesome info. Helped me with my project!"
Someone
Date Added: Wednesday 19th March 2008
"i think there is a number of scientists who are trying to act like god."
a man
Date Added: Friday 7th March 2008
"I love this page! It gives me a clear idea of cloning and its process. Thanks!!"
Rhonda S. Williams
Date Added: Monday 25th February 2008
"Too many people try to play god"
Me
Date Added: Friday 22nd February 2008
"i wanted to know where cloning is used. what places?"
a.judy
Date Added: Monday 10th December 2007
"I found your information very helpfull, keep it up"
jay ferdinand
Date Added: Sunday 18th November 2007
"Could you tell us which website you think this is copied from? This article was written by a medical student specifically for this site. Maybe some other website has copied us? We do occasionally republish articles from other sites, but always with permission and full acknowledgement. (edit: whoops, I get it now...)"
Admin
Date Added: Thursday 15th November 2007
"you've just copied this from another website"
jgh