subject: Cloning: What You Need to Know [print this page] Cloning: What You Need to Know Cloning: What You Need to Know
For a long time, the debate on cloning has raged interminably all over the world. Amidst this debate, the main issues have been shelved and the discussion has turned to a war of words with everyone trying to defend or oppose the area of biological research. The resultant controversy has done more harm than good and in essence, it has denied the common man who can't follow the intricate debates a chance to understand the marvels wrought by this field of research. Most people have been turned off the discussion on cloning and this apathy could have devastating effects on ongoing research in the advantages of cloning. Before you also turn away, take a minute to get an insight into what this area of research really is.
What is cloning?
The process of cloning an organism involves taking its DNA and replicating it in another organism thus getting the exact same characteristics in the new organism. This means that both individual organisms would have the same DNA sequence. Since 1997 when the first sheep Dolly was cloned, a lot of research has been carried mostly in laboratory environments.
How is cloning done?
The advances in technology have seen various ways of cloning develop and with the fast changes in research, it is obvious that more breakthroughs will be done. At present, there are two methods used
1) Artificial Embryo Twinning; this process in general mimics the natural process of creating identical twins. In the natural process, twins are created when the Zygote tries to divide into a 2 celled embryo and when this happens the resulting cells grow separately to form identical twins. In the artificial process, the fertilized egg is manually divided in a lab and the two cells are placed in a surrogate mother. It is important to note that this process of cloning is slowly being surpassed by more refined methods.
2) Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer; this method of cloning utilizes the somatic cells to create a genetic copy. The somatic cell is any cell in the body other than the egg or the sperm. This cell has two sets of chromosomes unlike the single one found in other cells. The process involves isolating a somatic cell from one organism and transferring its nucleus which is its brain to an egg cell whose nucleus has been removed in essence creating a fertilized egg. This fertilized egg is then transferred to a surrogate mother like happened with the famous sheep Dolly which was the first widely recognized clone.
Benefits of cloning
There are several benefits of cloning including gene therapy, and cell regeneration. The fact that these studies offer a chance of creating new cells provides the probability of medical benefits especially when dealing with devastating diseases which eat away at body cells such as Alzheimer's. Gene therapy can also be used to treat genetic conditions through introduction of virus vectors that carry corrected copies of problematic genes into the cells of affected organisms. Other areas under research in cloning include creating organisms with special qualities or even to replace the endangered species in our ecosystems. All said and done, cloning has great potential and despite the entire hullabaloo, it can definitely contribute greatly to humanity.
