How are Clones Made?
Clones are created through somatic cell nuclear transfer, an approach to cloning in which the nucleus of an egg cell is replaced with the nucleus of a somatic, or non-reproductive, cell from an individual to be cloned. Under ideal conditions, the two fuse together seamlessly, and the egg is “activated” by a jolt of electricity, then deposited into a female womb and allowed to grow and differentiate. If the fertilized egg develops into a fetus and makes it to term, the result is an individual with around 99.7% genetic similarity to the somatic cell donor – a clone. This value is not 100% because there is important DNA in the cell that exists outside the nucleus, which is left behind during the somatic cell nuclear transfer. Despite beliefs that clones are exact copies of each other, human clones would have less genetic similarity to their clone than they would to an identical twin. Brain patterns coding for details of personality, memories, skills, and the like would not be transferred
• Producing Clones: Animal Kingdom This “how stuff works” web page describes how animal clones are produced • Cloning and Genetic Engineering This fact file will provide information on how clones are produced and what the implications are for future advances. What are some potential benefits of cloning? What are the risks? • Conceiving a Clone. Go to this site to learn more about cloning and to read a discussion about the ethics of cloning. What are some of the legal issues involved in cloning of humans? • Legislation Pertaining to Cloning Human Beings. Go to this site to see what laws govern human cloning in the United States. What are some of the moral and ethical concerns about cloning? • State Laws on Human Cloning This PDF describes the current view on human cloning in certain states. • Genetic Engineering and Cloning: Improving Nature of Uncorking the Genie? Visit this site by clicking the start button. The site describes the cloning of Dolly and offers a forum for people to deba
The most widely used method of creating clones in the laboratory is called somatic cell nuclear transfer. The procedure is (as described above by the first poster) for biologists to take a fertilized cell, replace its nucleus with one you wish to clone, and then subjecting the cell to an environment where it can divide and develop into a cloned animal. (This was the process used to make Dolly the sheep almost 10 years ago.
