Cloning
Druga gimnazija Sarajevo
IB Middle Years Programme
Biology
Molecular biology
Cloning
AOI: AtL, HI, C&S
Teacher: Elvira Kukuljac
Class: I2 MYP ¸ Cloning is process of creating object which has exact genetic material as another one.1 It is very interesting field of biology for scientists as well as other people, but we still do not know much about how humans can be cloned. Method of cloning is very simple when it comes to explaining steps of it, but experimentally it is very hard to obtain it. However, humans have not been cloned yet, but animals and plants have. First animal cloned was frog in 1950s. There are three types of cloning – reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning and DNA cloning. 2 Reproductive cloning is type of cloning where genetic material from donor cell is taken and put into egg cell of surrogate mother. 3 Then, the egg cell is put into uterus of host organism, and with usage of mild electric shock is forced to divide, so producing embryo. 4 This process results in the creation of new animal. In 1996, Scottish scientists announced that first animal was cloned. It was sheep – Dolly. 5 Even though this process has not been brought to perfection, it can help us in many aspects of life. At first, reproductive cloning does not look like something that is useful, but it actually is. Firstly, it is very useful in agriculture. The best animal can be cloned many times, and so the farmer can have the field with the best animals. The same is with plants – you clone your best plants, and you get healthy, strong crops. 6 However, there are also disadvantages of cloning in agriculture. Lets take example of cloned plants. As all plants are the same, the best, we disrupt natural process of surviving only the best species. So, all these plants are exposed to same chances of getting the same disease. So,
IB Middle Years Programme
Biology
Molecular biology
Cloning
AOI: AtL, HI, C&S
Teacher: Elvira Kukuljac
Class: I2 MYP ¸ Cloning is process of creating object which has exact genetic material as another one.1 It is very interesting field of biology for scientists as well as other people, but we still do not know much about how humans can be cloned. Method of cloning is very simple when it comes to explaining steps of it, but experimentally it is very hard to obtain it. However, humans have not been cloned yet, but animals and plants have. First animal cloned was frog in 1950s. There are three types of cloning – reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning and DNA cloning. 2 Reproductive cloning is type of cloning where genetic material from donor cell is taken and put into egg cell of surrogate mother. 3 Then, the egg cell is put into uterus of host organism, and with usage of mild electric shock is forced to divide, so producing embryo. 4 This process results in the creation of new animal. In 1996, Scottish scientists announced that first animal was cloned. It was sheep – Dolly. 5 Even though this process has not been brought to perfection, it can help us in many aspects of life. At first, reproductive cloning does not look like something that is useful, but it actually is. Firstly, it is very useful in agriculture. The best animal can be cloned many times, and so the farmer can have the field with the best animals. The same is with plants – you clone your best plants, and you get healthy, strong crops. 6 However, there are also disadvantages of cloning in agriculture. Lets take example of cloned plants. As all plants are the same, the best, we disrupt natural process of surviving only the best species. So, all these plants are exposed to same chances of getting the same disease. So,
References: 2. Pregnancy. “Therapeutic Cloning vs. Reproductive Cloning” May 18th, 2012. 3. Wise Geek. “What is Reproductive Cloning?” May 18th, 2012. 4. eHow. “What are the Advantages of Cloning in Agriculture?” May 18th, 2012. 5. eHow. “The Advantages of Plant Cloning” May 18th, 2012. 6. Wise Geek. “What is Therapeutic Cloning?” May 18th, 2012. 7. Wise Geek. “What are Some Types of Cloning?” May 18th, 2012. 8. Endocrine Web. “Diabetes: What is Insulin?” May 18th, 2012. 9. Wise Geek. “What is Recombinant DNA Technology?” May 18th, 2012. 10. eHow. “Pros & Cons of Cloning” May 18th, 2012. 11. National Human Genome Research Institute. “What are some of the ethical issues related to cloning?” May 18th, 2012. 12. The Farns Worths. “To Clone or not to Clone: Ethical Question” May 18th, 2012. 13. Methods of Healing. “The Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloning” May 18th, 2012.