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Revision as of 20:27, 31 October 2001 by 129.128.164.xxx (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Cloning is the process of creating a perfect/identical copy of an original.
In biology, cloning refers either to copying a single gene, or a whole organism.
- Cloning a gene means to extract a gene from one organism (e.g., by PCR) and to insert it into a second organism (usually via a vector), where it can be used and studied.
- Cloning an organism means to create a new organism with the exact same genetic information of an existing one. This is done by removing the nucleus form an egg cell of the same species, then inserting the nucleus extracted from the organism to clone. As the nucleus contains (almost) all of the genetic information of a lifeform, the "host" cell will be transformed into a cell identical to the original.
- This technique has been successfully performed on several species, such as frogs, mice and sheep (the most famous example being Dolly). Attempts to clone a human are ethical problematic, but some scientists publicly announced their intention to do such a thing. The Chinese are suspected of having done it already.
The Raelites have announced that they intend to practice human cloning, and have a list of candidates; their intention is to produce human immortality by cloning and uploading the personalities into the clone.