The Process of Cloning

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Though cloning is not where it was predicted to be today by people in the 1960’s it is still very advanced with cloning being used by scientists often in experiments. The term cloning refers to many different processes that are used to create genetically identical copies of a biological being. The copied material, which has the exact same genetic makeup as the original, is called a clone. The term cloning describes a number of different processes that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone. Though most do not know this, cloning can occur naturally within nature in a process known as asexual reproduction, in which an organism makes a copy of itself using only one cell. This process occurs in some plants and single celled organisms. Another example of non-artificial cloning is identical twins where the fertilized egg of a human or other mammal splits creating two or more embryos with near identical DNA. The twins have nearly the same genetic makeup as each other, but differ from the parents in that regard. There are three types of artificial cloning that includes gene cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning consists of producing copies of genes or segments of DNA. Reproductive cloning produces identical copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning consists of producing embryonic stem cells used in experiments to create tissues for replacing injured or diseased tissues. Gene cloning has a very different process from reproductive and therapeutic cloning. Reproductive and therapeutic cloning essentially use the same process but are used for different purposes. Scientists use...

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...use for therapeutic cloning is the ability to copy any cell within an organism’s body to grow tissues. No one can really tell what the future holds for cloning but the next milestone would have to be the successful cloning of a human. The obstacle scientists face now is people’s objection based on ethics. The ethics and values that are in conflict with the further advancing of cloning are that of religion, societal issues about personal dignity, the infringement of the ideal of individual freedom, and the importance identity and autonomy. If and or when scientists receive the necessary response from the people anything may be achieved such as the mass cloning of humans for military purposes as seen in popular science-fiction films such as Star wars. Only time will tell what the future holds for cloning but until then we must use the developed methods we do know.

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