History:
Cloning started with frogs and toads back into the 1970s. Experiments have been performed with plants and animal embryos. The "Dolly" is the first fully grown mammal to be cloned in 1996. The dolly was developing by using the process call somatic cell nuclear transfer which consists of "DNA coming from a single cell taken from her mother egg, which is fused with the mammary cell. The fused cell then develops into an embryo, which is implanted in a "surrogate" sheep. The embryo grows into a lamb, which is genetically identical to the donor sheep
Why is Cloning important?
Cloning allows scientists to not only discover the what proteins are present and their function, but also explore what happens in a cell when these proteins are changed. When studying cell division, specifically, scientists look for proteins that control the beginning and end of division. Using the recombinant DNA scientists can direct the replication within the human cells.
WHY CLONE?
- CLONING FOR MEDICINE: Cloning for medical purposes has the potential to benefit large numbers of people.
Cloning Animal Models of Disease- Research about human disease and illness is almost always tested on animal models first to develop different understanding to different diseases. But unfortuantely animals such as mice carry certain mutations which can interpret these important studies a different way. By using cloning to create transgenic animal models a reduction in the time-intenstive process will occur. As a result of cloning all animals such as mice will quickly produce a population of genetically identical animals for accurate study without abnormalities or mutations.
Cloning to make Stem Cells- Stem cells build, maintain, and repair the body throughout our lives. Because these are processes that stem cells do naturally, they can be manipulated to repair damaged or diseased organs and tissues. But stem cells transferred from one person to another are seen as foreign, and they usually trigger an immune response. Scientists are now looking at cloning as a way to create stem cells that are genetically identical to an individual. These cells could then be used for medical purposes, such as growing whole organs. And stem cells cloned from someone with a disease could be grown in culture and studied to help researchers understand the disease and develop treatments.
- REVIVING ENDANGERED OR EXTINT SPECIES: Bringing a species back from the dead seems impossibly but is very likely with cloning.
In order to clone an endangered or extint species scientist need 2 pieces of information in order to carry out cloning of a specific animal:
- A preserved piece of DNA from an extinct species.
- A closely related species, to serve as an egg donor and suggoate mother.
- CLONING LIVESTOCK: The cloned livestock that have been done by scientists have proven to be some of the most efficent providers of dairy and high quality meats. Cloning cattle, sheep and pigs are extremely beneficial for supporting the economy and providing human with produce. The more we have of these animals, the more we benefit.
- DRUG PRODUCTION: Farm animals such as sheep, cows, pigs and goats are currently being genetically engineered to produce drugs or proteins that are useful in medicine. By inserting a specific gene into the DNA of a producing animal that codes for a vaccine, scientists can take the nucleus from one of these cells and transfer it into another cell to develop the drug in a specific cell. This drug would then be passed on to the offspring and develop a whole new genotype for the species which avoids genetic reshuffling that happens during sexual reproduction.