Cloning: Science to Sci-Fi

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Technology has been an incredible tool in discovery, research, developing cultures and everyday society for millions of years. It even dates back to when primitive people sharpened sticks to use to hunt and defend themselves. However, in the past several decades and even centuries, science has used technology to create advanced processes and discover cures to diseases, treatment for long-term illnesses and even ways for human beings to reproduce when their bodies are not capable on their own, by means of “in vitro” fertilization. One medical technique has had scientists, politicians, patients and lawyers on the edge of their seats; cloning.
A clone is defined as “an individual grown from a single somatic cell or cell nucleus and genetically identical to it” (“Clone”, Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary). When a cloned embryo is implanted in a mother, it will develop like a natural embryo through the fetal stage to birth. It made its first great appearance to the world on February 22, 1997 when the birth of ‘Dolly the Sheep’ was announced. Dolly was created in the Roslin Institute in Midlothian, Scotland and she was the first mammal that was successfully cloned from a parent cell. The process is formally called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, or SCNT. A nucleus containing DNA is removed from skin or other cells and inserted into an egg whose nucleus has been removed. The egg is stimulated and this is how the process of cloning begins. SCNT is classified as reproductive cloning. It is a form of asexual reproduction because there is one parent and the organism is not produced by combining sperm and egg cells.
Cloning, being a very complex procedure and still under research, is not always successful. Mice, pigs, cattle and other mamm...

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... of fertility, stroke, and in some cases even death. Scientists are continuing in their efforts today to legalize and gain funding for their research, because cloning has the potential to be an outstanding contributor to medical achievements.
Science, medicine, and technology have been researching new techniques, trials and methods of bettering society for centuries. It is astounding how far they have come since even the last decade. Cloning, whether viewed as science or science fiction, is an incredible process and continues to be more and more developed. While there are many different variables that have effected cloning and continue to affect its further development, scientists continue to make giant leaps in their discoveries. There is a lot more to the term ‘cloning’ than that which comes to mind, and it is truly fascinating to discover what lies underneath.

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