How Cloning works?
Nothing really prepared the world for the 1997 announcement that a group of Scottish scientists had created a cloned sheep named Dolly. Many folks believe that within the next decade, we will hear a more shocking announcement of the first cloned human. Thanks to two scientists in South Korea who claim to have created human embryos through cloning, it appears we're getting close.
In January 2001, a small consortium of scientists led by Panayiotis Zavos, a former University of Kentucky professor, and Italian researcher Severino Antinori said that they planned to clone a human in the next two years. At about the same time, the New York Post reported a story about an American couple who planned to pay $500,000 to Las Vegas-based Clonaid for a clone of their deceased infant daughter.
These scientists may be chasing glory in the name of science. Whatever their motivation, it's likely that we will see the first cloned human baby appear on the evening news perhaps as soon as 2005. Scientists have shown that current cloning techniques work, but only rarely do they succeed in creating a cloned embryo that makes it through birth.
If human cloning proceeds, scientists plan to use somatic cell nuclear transfer, which is the same procedure that was used to create Dolly the sheep. Somatic cell nuclear transfer begins when doctors take the egg from a donor and remove the nucleus of the egg, creating an enucleated egg. A cell, which contains DNA, is then taken from the person who is being cloned. The enucleated egg is then fused together with the cloning subject's cell using electricity. This creates an embryo, which is implanted into a surrogate mother through in vitro fertilization. If the procedure is successful, then the surrogate mother will give birth to a baby that is a clone of the cloning subject at the end of a normal gestation period. Of course, the success rate is only about one or two out of 100 embryos. It took 277 attempts to create Dolly.
Who Will Clone?
Not all cloning would involve creating an entirely new human being. Cloning is seen as a possible way to aid some people who have severe medical problems. One potential use of cloning technology would involve creating a human repair kit. In other words, scientists could clone our cells and fix mutated genes that cause diseases. In January 2001, the British government passed rules to allow cloning of human embryos to combat diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
While it may take time for cloning to be fully accepted, therapeutic cloning will likely be the first step in that direction. Therapeutic cloning is the process by which a person's DNA is used to grow an embryonic clone. However, instead of inserting this embryo into a surrogate mother, its cells are used to grow stem cells. These stem cells can be used as a human repair kit. They can grow replacement organs, such as hearts, livers and skin. They can also be used to grow neurons to cure those who suffer from Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or Rett Syndrome.
Here's how therapeutic cloning works:
DNA is extracted from a sick person.
The DNA is then inserted into an enucleated donor egg.
The egg then divides like a typical fertilized egg and forms an embryo.
Stem cells are removed from the embryo.
Any kind of tissue or organ can be grown from these stem cells to treat the sick.
Others see cloning as a way to aid couples with infertility problems, but who want a child with at least one of the parent's biological attributes. Zavos and Antinori say that helping these couples is the goal of their research. Zavos said that there are hundreds of couples already lined to to pay approximately $50,000 for the service. The group said that the procedure would involve injecting cells from an infertile male into an egg, which would be inserted into the female's uterus. Their child would look the same as the father.
Another use for human cloning could be to bring deceased relatives back to life. Imagine using a piece of your great-grandmother's DNA to create a clone of her. In a sense, you could be the parent of your great-grandmother. This opens the door to many ethical problems, but it's a door that could soon be opened. One American couple, who has had difficulty dealing with the death of their infant daughter, is paying $500,000 to Clonaid to clone their daughter using preserved skin cells.
Click to see how these things work:
 Cloning
|
|
|
|
Related External Links:
|
Internal Links:
|
|
|
|
Home
World of Letters
Contact
TW
Writer
Wallpapers
Do
you know?
