For many years, the ideas of cloning rested solely on the pages of science fiction novels. Within the last four decades, cloning has become a reality for scientists. There are several different types of cloning, and each has its own purpose.
Molecular cloning, which is also known as gene cloning and DNA cloning, has many medical applications. This is an exciting science, and researchers use molecular cloning to learn as much as they can about the proteins within our cells. Not only do scientists seek to identify the functions of each protein in our bodies, they also study what happens when proteins are altered. Altering these proteins may help medical researchers find cures or treatments for serious diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Scientists also have had great success with reproductive cloning, another form of cloning technology. In this type, an embryo is created by cloning the nuclear DNA of an existing animal or animal that has died. This was used successfully in the creation of Dolly, a domestic sheep, in 1996. Since this time, other animals also have been cloned, including horses. Some scientists suggest that cloning could eventually be used to bring back extinct animals, a sort of Jurassic Park theory, although probably not on the scale of dinosaurs.
While the nuclear DNA is an exact replica of the previous animal, the DNA in the mitochondria is not identical and is unique to the new animal. So while there will be many close similarities in structure, the new animal is still unique and not just an exact copy of another animal.
While ethical questions arise with reproductive cloning, even more controversy surrounds the process of therapeutic cloning. The goal in reproductive cloning is to clone nuclear DNA, create a new embryo, and implant that embryo into a host animal which then gives birth to a new animal. In therapeutic cloning, the goal is to create an embryo, and a few days after creation, scientists extract the stem cells from the embryo. At this point, the embryo is destroyed, so the idea of creating life or potential life and then destroying it is a source of vigorous debate.
The goal of therapeutic cloning is not only to study stem cells, but eventually to use these stem cells to fight diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease and hundreds of other medical disorders. The reason why scientists want to use stem cells is because these cells can be changed into any type of cell. There are 220 different types of cells in our bodies, and the idea that you can transform a stem cell into any of these types suggests that you might be able to create new healthy cells, integrate them into the body and then use this therapy to halt or lessen the effects of diseases caused by unhealthy or dying cells.
Molecular cloning, which is also known as gene cloning and DNA cloning, has many medical applications. This is an exciting science, and researchers use molecular cloning to learn as much as they can about the proteins within our cells. Not only do scientists seek to identify the functions of each protein in our bodies, they also study what happens when proteins are altered. Altering these proteins may help medical researchers find cures or treatments for serious diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
Scientists also have had great success with reproductive cloning, another form of cloning technology. In this type, an embryo is created by cloning the nuclear DNA of an existing animal or animal that has died. This was used successfully in the creation of Dolly, a domestic sheep, in 1996. Since this time, other animals also have been cloned, including horses. Some scientists suggest that cloning could eventually be used to bring back extinct animals, a sort of Jurassic Park theory, although probably not on the scale of dinosaurs.
While the nuclear DNA is an exact replica of the previous animal, the DNA in the mitochondria is not identical and is unique to the new animal. So while there will be many close similarities in structure, the new animal is still unique and not just an exact copy of another animal.
While ethical questions arise with reproductive cloning, even more controversy surrounds the process of therapeutic cloning. The goal in reproductive cloning is to clone nuclear DNA, create a new embryo, and implant that embryo into a host animal which then gives birth to a new animal. In therapeutic cloning, the goal is to create an embryo, and a few days after creation, scientists extract the stem cells from the embryo. At this point, the embryo is destroyed, so the idea of creating life or potential life and then destroying it is a source of vigorous debate.
The goal of therapeutic cloning is not only to study stem cells, but eventually to use these stem cells to fight diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease, Parkinson's disease and hundreds of other medical disorders. The reason why scientists want to use stem cells is because these cells can be changed into any type of cell. There are 220 different types of cells in our bodies, and the idea that you can transform a stem cell into any of these types suggests that you might be able to create new healthy cells, integrate them into the body and then use this therapy to halt or lessen the effects of diseases caused by unhealthy or dying cells.
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Armand Zeiders enjoys blogging about biomedical research. For additional details regarding N-terminal sequencing service, please check out the Primm Biotech site now.