Description
Cloning is the replication of an exact genetic copy of an organism by use of a somatic tissue (or cell) from the donor organism. There are two methods of cloning and it can be used in humans, human organs, or even animals. The first method, called embryo cloning, has been achieved years before in frogs, other amphibians, mammals, and once it was tried with humans, although both attempts with humans failed (Messina 27). The second method of cloning is achieved not by using and embryo, but an adult cell instead. To do this scientists remove an egg cell from a female and remove the chromosomes and nucleus, leaving no way for the mother interfere with the genetic part of the reproduction. The parts of the egg cell needed for cell growth and development are left intact, though, and the cell from an adult mammal is then taken away from its owner.
Cited: Kolata, Gina. Clone: The Road to Dolly, and the Path Ahead. New York: W. Morrow & Company, 1998. Messina, Lynn. Biotechnology. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2000. Nash, Madeleine. "The Age of Cloning." Time 10 March 1997. Shostak, Stanley. Becoming Immortal: Combining Cloning and Stem Cell Therapy. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002. Wong, Dominic. The ABCs of Gene Cloning. New York: Chapman & Hall, 1997.