Different Types Of Cloning
For many years, the ideas of cloning rested solely on the pages of science fiction novels. Within the last four decades, cloning has become a reality for scientists. There are several different types of cloning, and each has its own purpose.
Molecular cloning, which is also known as gene cloning and DNA cloning, has many medical applications. This is an exciting science, and researchers use molecular cloning to learn as much as they can about the proteins within our cells. Not only do scientists seek to identify the functions of each protein in our bodies, they also study what happens when proteins are altered. Altering these proteins may help medical researchers find cures or treatments for serious diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Scientists also have had great success with reproductive cloning, another form of cloning technology. In this type, an embryo is created by cloning the nuclear DNA of an existing animal or animal that has died. This was used successfully in the creation of Dolly, a domestic sheep, in 1996. Since this time, other animals also have been cloned, including horses. Some scientists suggest that cloning could eventually be used to bring back extinct animals, a sort of Jurassic Park theory, although probably not on the scale of dinosaurs.
While the DNA in the cell nucleus that is used to create embryos is identical to the original animal's DNA, the DNA in the new animal's cell mitochondria is unique and not identical to the original animal. So in the end, the animal is highly similar, but certainly not a completely identical copy of the first animal.
While ethical questions arise with reproductive cloning, even more controversy surrounds the process of therapeutic cloning. The goal in reproductive cloning is to clone nuclear DNA, create a new embryo, and implant that embryo into a host animal which then gives birth to a new animal. In therapeutic cloning, the goal is to create an embryo, and a few days after creation, scientists extract the stem cells from the embryo. At this point, the embryo is destroyed, so the idea of creating life or potential life and then destroying it is a source of vigorous debate.
Obviously, the creating and destruction of therapeutic clones is a subject of much ethical debate, and there are many detractors. The stem cells found in these embryos, however, can be transformed into any of the more than 200 cells that are found in the body. The hope is that one day these cells can be used to replace cells as a treatment for everything from cancer to Alzheimer's disease.
Molecular cloning, which is also known as gene cloning and DNA cloning, has many medical applications. This is an exciting science, and researchers use molecular cloning to learn as much as they can about the proteins within our cells. Not only do scientists seek to identify the functions of each protein in our bodies, they also study what happens when proteins are altered. Altering these proteins may help medical researchers find cures or treatments for serious diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Scientists also have had great success with reproductive cloning, another form of cloning technology. In this type, an embryo is created by cloning the nuclear DNA of an existing animal or animal that has died. This was used successfully in the creation of Dolly, a domestic sheep, in 1996. Since this time, other animals also have been cloned, including horses. Some scientists suggest that cloning could eventually be used to bring back extinct animals, a sort of Jurassic Park theory, although probably not on the scale of dinosaurs.
While the DNA in the cell nucleus that is used to create embryos is identical to the original animal's DNA, the DNA in the new animal's cell mitochondria is unique and not identical to the original animal. So in the end, the animal is highly similar, but certainly not a completely identical copy of the first animal.
While ethical questions arise with reproductive cloning, even more controversy surrounds the process of therapeutic cloning. The goal in reproductive cloning is to clone nuclear DNA, create a new embryo, and implant that embryo into a host animal which then gives birth to a new animal. In therapeutic cloning, the goal is to create an embryo, and a few days after creation, scientists extract the stem cells from the embryo. At this point, the embryo is destroyed, so the idea of creating life or potential life and then destroying it is a source of vigorous debate.
Obviously, the creating and destruction of therapeutic clones is a subject of much ethical debate, and there are many detractors. The stem cells found in these embryos, however, can be transformed into any of the more than 200 cells that are found in the body. The hope is that one day these cells can be used to replace cells as a treatment for everything from cancer to Alzheimer's disease.
About the Author:
Armand Zeiders loves writing about biomedical research. For more details regarding N-terminal sequencing service, please visit the Primm Biotech site today.
You are receiving this because you signed up for it on 2013-09-29 from IP
To fine-tune your selection of which articles to receive, just login here
using your username:
To unsubscribe please use the following link:
Unsubscribe
0 comments:
Post a Comment