Cloning

Ashish NagJeffrey BaucomKeizra Mecklai

4.4.11- Define Clone

4.4.12- Outline a technique for cloning using differentiated animal cells

4.4.13- Discuss the ethical issues of therapeutic cloning in humans

A clone is a group of genetically identical organisms or a group of cells derived from a single parent cell

A group of cells that were all divided from the same parent cell would be called cloned cells

Animals that reproduce asexually are examples of clones that are produced naturally

Cells can be cloned by isolating and copying a defined DNA sequence, In Vitro

In Vitro – A procedure performed in a controlled environment such as a petri dish or test tube

The use of cloning technology could help reveal more information in other studies in genetics, such as genetic engineering and gene therapy

Cloning could be potentially used to generate tissue for use in organ transplants

Aside from organ transplants cloning technology could be used to replace damaged cells as a result of degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Tay Sachs

Cloning could be used to create animals for use in testing or animals with special qualities

Cloning could also be used to replenish populations of endangered animals

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Used to create an ovum with a donor nucleus The nucleus of a somatic cell of an organism

is removed from the rest of the cell The nucleus of the egg cell is also discarded The nucleus of the somatic cell is inserted

into the egg cell The egg cell, containing the somatic cell’s

nucleus is then shocked and begins to divide After dividing, the embryo will have almost

identical DNA to the original organism

The Roslin Technique The nucleus of an egg cell is removed

(enucleated) The enucleated egg cell and a somatic

cell are joined together by an electrical charge and implanted into the host organism (in the case of Dolly, it was a sheep)

The cell should act like a normal egg and grow into a new organism, as a clone of the donor animal

The Honolulu Technique The nucleus of a somatic cell is

removed The nucleus of an egg cell is removed The Somatic cell’s nucleus is

implanted into the cytoplasm of the egg cell

The egg is then treated with special chemicals and implanted into the surrogate organism

Therapeutic Cloning is the creation of an embryo to supply embryonic stem cells for medical use

The creation of a human embryonic stem cell line requires the destruction of an embryo

Some groups argue that embryos are not the equivalent of life, and only have the potential for life

Other groups argue that an embryo is a living being that is killed for stem cells

Although cloning animals has been somewhat successful, it is extremely expensive and inefficient

Most cloning attempts result in a fail rate of over 90% and experiments that do succeed usually result in complications and premature death

It is difficult to foresee how these complications would translate for human experiments

In addition the mental impact of cloning must also be considered, while the mental conditions of animals rarely affect their development, the development of humans is extremely sensitive to mental instability

Scientists have found ways to get around the ethical issues associated with Embryonic Stem Cells

Pluripotency- the ability for a cell to differentiate into many different types of cells

The Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell is a stem cell that is derived from a non-pluripotent cell such as a typical adult somatic cell, which has been changed into a stem cell by forced gene expression

Because Induced Pluripotent Stem cells are derived from the somatic tissues of recipient patients, they overcome two major hurdles human embryonic stem cells have faced: immune rejection and the ethical concerns surrounding Embryonic Stem cells

Myocardium from an Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/s/somatic_cell_nuclear_transfer.htm

http://biology.about.com/od/biotechnologycloning/a/aa062306a.htm

http://robby.nstemp.com/shopping_page.html

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml