How Does Cloning Work?
Dolly the sheep is a famous example of cloning. In 1997, scientists cloned Dolly, but this was not the first time a living thing was cloned Cloning has been done for a long time. Plants have been cloned for centuries and scientists have been cloning DNA since the 1970's.
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What is Cloning?
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Cloning is the biological equivalent of using a copier to copy a document. In the case of cloning instead of copying a document, scientists duplicate DNA. To duplicate DNA, scientists manipulate single cells, egg cells or embryos.
Plant Cloning
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The first cloning technique ever used was called grafting. Grafting combines genetically different root or shoot systems to make a single plant. Seedless grape plants are an example of how plant cloning is used to create a hybrid plant.
Micropropagation is another form of plant cloning. This process uses the cells from a single plant, which are exposed to growth chemicals, in a Petri dish. These chemicals encourage cell reproduction until plant shoots develop. The plant shoots are then chemically induced to produce roots for planting.
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Embryonic Cloning
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Scientists use two techniques for Embryonic Cloning. Artificial Embryo Twinning was the first form of biological cloning developed. This scientific procedure mimics the natural process of creating twins. Using a Petri dish, an early stage embryo is manually divided into two embryos. Both embryos are identical and have the same DNA. When these embryos are placed into a host mother, genetically identical twins are born.
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer is the advanced approach to cloning. In this process, DNA is removed from a host and placed into a specially prepared egg cell for reproduction. To prepare the egg cell for cloning, scientists insert a needle into the cell and remove its DNA from the nuclei. This "empty" nuclei is then "filled" with the DNA taken from the host. The egg cell is then implanted for reproduction. When the fetus is born, it will be an identical copy of the host.
Therapeutic Cloning
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Therapeutic cloning is an emerging cloning science used to create specific stem cells, such as nerve cells, cardiac cells and other cells to repair biological damage. Therapeutic cloning uses a form of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. In this process, eggs are coaxed to mature until a needle can be inserted to remove its complete nuclei. The egg now is a hollow shell where other nuclei are injected to encourage specific stem cell creations. The inserted DNA from the "new" nuclei determines the type of stem cells that are produced.
Molecular Cloning
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Molecular cloning is used for DNA research. In this process, DNA is transferred into a Plasmid. Plasmids are independent life forms that do not need DNA to generate copies. The Plasmid accepts foreign DNA and naturally clones it. Scientists use this molecular cloning to reproduce identical DNA strands for genetic and hereditary research. This technique was discovered in the 1970s and set the stage for the human genome project. It is still used in finding DNA sequences for genetic disorders.
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