Danielle Padgett June 22, 2011 Child Psychology Dr.

Farr Cloning of Animals Cloning is the creation of an organism that is an exact genetic copy of another. This means that every single bit of DNA is the same between the two. There are different types of cloning, one which is recombinant DNA technology, DNA cloning, molecular cloning, and gene cloning. They all refer to the same process. They transfer of a DNA fragment of interest from one organism to a selfreplicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid. However, to clone a gene, a DNA fragment containing the gene of interest is isolated from chromosomal DNA using restriction enzymes and then united with a plasmid that has been cut with the same restriction enzymes. When the fragments of the chromosomal, DNA is joined with its cloning vector in the lab, it is called a recombinant DNA molecule. There is also Reproductive and Therapeutic cloning. Reproductive cloning is a technology used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal. Therapeutic cloning also called embryo cloning is the production of human embryos for use in research. The goal of this process is not to create cloned human beings, but rather to harvest stem cells that can be used to study human development and to treat disease. In 1996 July 5 14 February 2003 Dolly, which was a female domestic sheep, and the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, using the process of nuclear transfer. She was created using the technique of somatic cell nuclear transfer, where the cell nucleus from an adult cell is transferred into an unfertilized acolyte (developing egg cell) that has had its nucleus removed. The hybrid cell is then stimulated to divide by an electric shock, and when it develops into a blastocyst it is implanted in a surrogate mother.[8] Dolly was the first clone produced from a cell taken from an adult mammal. The production of Dolly showed that genes in the nucleus of such a mature differentiated somatic cell are still capable of reverting back to an embryonic totipotent state, creating a cell that can then go on to develop into any part of an animal. In 1952, the first animal that was cloned was a tadpole. Researchers have cloned a number of large and small animals including sheep,

goats, cows, mice, pigs, cats, rabbits, and a guar. All which were created using nuclear transfer technology. Hundreds of cloned animals exist today, but the number of different species is limited. Attempts at cloning certain species have been unsuccessful. Some species may be more resistant to somatic cell nuclear transfer than others. The process of stripping the nucleus from an egg cell and replacing it with the nucleus of a donor cell is a traumatic one, and improvements in cloning technologies may be needed before many species can be cloned successfully. Cloning of animals is not supported by the American public and technology is riddled with problems that cause animal suffering. The suffering of animals despite the years of research, over 90% of cloning attempts fail, even with extensive veterinary intervention. Birth defects, physiological impairments, illness, and premature death continue to be the norm, not the exception, with cloning. There are also problems that can come along with cloning of animals. Problems that come along with cloning are the large offspring syndrome a fatal condition associated with a host of abnormalities that occurs in over 50% of cow clones, but fewer than 6% of bred animals. Hydrops, which is also a fatal condition where animals swell with fluid, it occurs in 28% of cows clones, but very rarely. However, 67% of Americans disapprove of cloning animals for food. The disapproval increased to 88% when respondents learn that animal suffering is involved. The majority of Americans think it is morally wrong to clone animals, and 63% would not buy cloned food even if it were labeled as safe.