SEARCY, AR. (LP) — The term cloning describes a number of different processes that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone. Researchers have cloned a wide range of biological materials, including genes, cells, tissues and even entire organisms, such as a sheep.
Amy Reeves, student at Searcy High stated that she doesn’t agree with animal cloning. “I am against animal cloning. Animals should not be designed as medical guinea pigs.” There are many different types of cloning, such as these three different types, gene cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning produces copies of genes or segments of DNA. Reproductive cloning produces copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning produces embryonic stem cells for experiments aimed at creating tissues to replace injured or diseased tissues. Gene cloning, also known as DNA cloning, is a very different process from reproductive and therapeutic cloning. Reproductive and therapeutic cloning share many of the same techniques, but are done for different purposes.
Over the last 50 years, scientists have conducted cloning experiments in a wide range of animals using a variety of techniques. Richard Smith another student states, “I support it in regards to cloning individual body parts and tissues, but not whole individuals.” In 1979, researchers produced the first genetically identical mice by splitting mouse embryos in the test tube and then implanting the resulting embryos into the wombs of adult female mice. Shortly after that, researchers produced the first genetically identical cows, sheep and chickens by transferring the nucleus of a cell taken from an early embryo into an egg that had been emptied of its nucleus.
It was not until 1996, however, that researchers succeeded in cloning the first mammal from a mature (somatic) cell taken from an adult animal. After 276 attempts, Scottish researchers finally produced Dolly, the lamb from the udder cell of a 6-year-old sheep. Two years later, researchers in Japan cloned eight calves from a single cow, but only four survived. Clones do not always look identical. Although clones share the same genetic material, the environment also plays a big role in how an organism turns out. Several companies are currently providing services that use cloning technology. For example, South Korea-based Sooam Biotech clones pets for around $100,000. And a Texas-based company, Viagen Pets, clones cats for $25,000 and dogs for $50,000. Even plants are being cloned. One company is cloning maple trees to provide lumber for guitar-makers, with the aim of duplicating a quality in the wood, called figuring, that gives a guitar a sort of shimmering appearance.
There are many other applications for cloning. The movie “Jurassic Park” stirred the public’s imagination and asked the question, “Can we use cloning to bring back extinct species through cloning?” For this process to be successful, scientists would need living DNA from the extinct animal and a living animal egg that is closely related to the extinct creature. While cloning a human is currently illegal in most parts of the world, cloning stem cells from humans is a very promising field of research. Stem cells can be reprogrammed to become any type of cell needed to repair or replace damaged tissue or cells in the body. Stem cell research has the potential to help people who have spinal injuries and other conditions. Another area of research, the cloning of hair follicles, began more than a decade ago. It’s just one potential application of human-cell cloning: treating hair loss. “We have learned recently that human hair cells lose their potential to multiply when expanded in cell cultures in a petri dish,” said Ken L. Williams Jr., a surgeon and founder of Orange County Hair Restoration. Another example of practical human-cell cloning is to use stem cells to help burns heal. A biotech company, RenovaCare, has created what it calls the CellMist System. In this process, stem cells are applied to the burned area on the patient, and that application triggers new skin-cell growth. Though it’s still experimental, this process could help burn victims heal faster and experience less scarring.
