Cloning
Introduction
You may have heard of Dolly the Sheep. She was the first animal to be cloned using a cell taken from a mature mother, in Midlothian, UK.
Note that animals had been cloned before Dolly but she was made famous because of the use of a cell from a mature ewe, and so was the first clone of from an animal that was living.
Technique
Below is an outline of the process of cloning, as you can see, there could actually be 3 different mothers (and no fathers) in this process. The animal that was 'cloned' is the one that provides the nucleus since (almost) all the genetic material is here.
Ethical Concerns
Many people have reservations about genetic technology especially when it is used to create new life. The main concern with this technique is that it produces an embryo, and many would say this is like people playing God and creating life. It is especially concerning to think that this technique could be applied to humans, however doing this is strictly forbidden.
It is worth noting however, that this technique is very difficult. Indeed in the case of Dolly the Sheep, 277 cell fusions where made, and only one of them resulted in a live sheep being born. So, at the moment at least, these sorts of techniques are of interest to Scientists rather than for any economic application.
Updated: 8 October 2012