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=Blame it on your Genes=

Introduction of Human Cloning
The idea of cloning has been debated about for hundreds of years regarding the ethics behind it, but nevertheless it has occurred in the past and most likely will occur in some manner in the future. The concept of having more than one of someone has been thought of for thousands of years, but only recently has it become a reality. Many believe cloning human beings is unethical because many religious values are against the idea of cloning and there should only be one of a person ever at one time. Scientists believe cloning could have a positive effect in the world because it gives a better opportunity to study the human body and make the best possible use of its body parts. No matter what is believed, it has only been in the last few decades that the occurrence of cloning has actually progressed.

History
The more modern era of cloning began in 1958 when an English-American plant physiologist Frederick C. Steward clone carrot plants from single -celled organisms. Another advancement in cloning history was made in 1964 when the first animal cell was cloned by biologist John B. Gurdon. It took more than twenty years after this cloning achievement performed by Gurdon for the next stop in cloning history to occur. This was when scientists from both the US and Switzerland managed to clone mice by using almost the same strategy Gurdon used. In 1988 a cattle livestock was cloned by removing the embryo from another cow and implanted into the embryo of an unfertilized cow also of whose nuclei had been removed. In February 1997, a Scottish embryologist, Ian Wilmut, reported that he had cloned an adult mammal for the first time in history. In 2002, a "Raelian" religious sec announced that with the help of the complany Clonaid, they had produced a human girl clone, but the public was skeptical and this announcement had never been confirmed.

A sheep similar to Dolly, the well-known sheep cloned in 1997 (Retrieved from Google Images)

Statistics
Robert Hooke and Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek's microscope was created in the 1600's and they gave scientists the idea today to use embryos and the primary topic for cloning. Until 1958 when carrot cells were cloned by physiologist Frederick C. Steward, no major cloning breakthrough had occurred in history. There are two primary types of cloning: therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning, but both processes are very similar and have many similar characteristics.

Case Study
When the Scottish embryologist made the announcement of his creation, Dolly the cloned sheep, Dolly was seven months old at the time. In Wilmut's experiment, he removed the nucleus from a normal embryonic cell in an adult sheep and replaced it with another adult sheep's mammary gland cell. Clearly this method proved to be successful. The embryonic cell in the sheep continued to grow like a normal cell and eventually a new sheep was born named Dolly. In 2003, after living about 6 years, scientists were not able to save Dolly and the sheep died from a lung infection. Scientists and embryologists later studied the sheep's make-up and they were able to figure out that Dolly was genetically identical to the original sheep, the same one that had shared its genetic material with Dolly.



General process of cell division ( Retrieved from Google Images)

Key Individuals
Because they created the first usable microscope of which related types are still used today, simply upgraded, and came up with the original ideas of cloning and how it can be done, many experts consider both Robert Hooke and Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek to be two of the most important individuals within the field of cloning. Without their input, it is possible the ability to look at cells and embryos of the human body in detail would not have been accomplished for hundreds of years later, if at all. These two men set the standard for microscopic activity within the human body and without them, it is very unlikely experts would know as much about it as is known today.

Glossary of Terms
Cloning- The process of producing populations of genetically-identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Clone- A group of identical cells or organisms that are descended from a common ancestor through asexual reproduction. Therapeutic cloning- Similar to the normal process of reproduction where the cell undergoes birth of another organism. Reproductive cloning- Asexual reproduction where a cell is grown similar to a bacteria.

Guide For Further Research
Databases- Several useful online databases for research the topic of cloning in general are Science Resource Center, Global Issues in Context, and Encyclopedia Britannica. Texts- The book "Cloning" as well as another factual book "Cloning and the New Genetics" are very helpful resources for studying cloning.

Cohen, Daniel. //Cloning//. 1997. Brookfield, Connecticut: The Millbrook Press, Inc., 1998. Print.

Hyde, Margaret O., and Lawrence E. Hyde. //Cloning and the New Genetics//. 1984. Hillside, N.J.: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1984. Print.

Other Websites- Global Issues in Context: []

Science Resource Center: []