Animal Cloning
Animal Cloning
10/30/14
SEK
Group B
There are a variety of sheep in the world. Are you familiar with the name “Dolly”? Dolly is the most well-known and the most talked-about sheep in the world. Distinct from other sheep, Dolly was not born through normal mammal reproductions; she was cloned from her mother´s somatic cell, through nuclear transfer. (Wikipedia, 2014) In fact, she is just like a carbon copy of her mother so that they are genetically identical. Obviously, the birth of Dolly marked a new era of cloning. Before Dolly, plant cloning had been the main area of research. After Dolly, there have been various improvements in cloning technology. (BBC, 2014) Therefore, it is unassailable that cloning plays a progressively important role in our daily lives. For this reason it is extremely valuable to increase our knowledge of animal cloning techniques as well as understand its role within our society.
As technological improvements are tested we continue to make progress. For example, the cloning technique that was used for Dolly was revolutionary. Cloning is defined as the production of a genetically identical copy of an organism through an asexual process. (wiseGEEK, 2014) Cloning refers to somatic cell nuclear transfer, involving genes, cells, tissues, or entire organisms. (Wikipedia, 2014) The procedure uses the genes of the first, so each tiny individual piece of their DNA is identical. (University of Utah, 2014) In order to clone an animal, just as for a sheep, a certain number of chromosomes from a normal sheep´s ovum are first removed. Next, they are replaced with those chromosomes that have been taken from another adult sheep´s skin cell. This is how Dolly was born in 1996. (BBC, 2014) Normally, in the ovum half of the chromosomes come from the mother and the rest from the father. In the condition of cloning, all of the chromosomes come from one certain animal, the donor, and its clone will always have the same genes. (Sohn, 2004)
After the
10/30/14
SEK
Group B
There are a variety of sheep in the world. Are you familiar with the name “Dolly”? Dolly is the most well-known and the most talked-about sheep in the world. Distinct from other sheep, Dolly was not born through normal mammal reproductions; she was cloned from her mother´s somatic cell, through nuclear transfer. (Wikipedia, 2014) In fact, she is just like a carbon copy of her mother so that they are genetically identical. Obviously, the birth of Dolly marked a new era of cloning. Before Dolly, plant cloning had been the main area of research. After Dolly, there have been various improvements in cloning technology. (BBC, 2014) Therefore, it is unassailable that cloning plays a progressively important role in our daily lives. For this reason it is extremely valuable to increase our knowledge of animal cloning techniques as well as understand its role within our society.
As technological improvements are tested we continue to make progress. For example, the cloning technique that was used for Dolly was revolutionary. Cloning is defined as the production of a genetically identical copy of an organism through an asexual process. (wiseGEEK, 2014) Cloning refers to somatic cell nuclear transfer, involving genes, cells, tissues, or entire organisms. (Wikipedia, 2014) The procedure uses the genes of the first, so each tiny individual piece of their DNA is identical. (University of Utah, 2014) In order to clone an animal, just as for a sheep, a certain number of chromosomes from a normal sheep´s ovum are first removed. Next, they are replaced with those chromosomes that have been taken from another adult sheep´s skin cell. This is how Dolly was born in 1996. (BBC, 2014) Normally, in the ovum half of the chromosomes come from the mother and the rest from the father. In the condition of cloning, all of the chromosomes come from one certain animal, the donor, and its clone will always have the same genes. (Sohn, 2004)
After the