Cloning Technology

Dolly the sheep garnered much attention because she was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. Her successful birth proved that specialized cells could be used to create an exact copy of the animal. Tremendous ethical debates were stirred by the announcement of the successful cloning.

Steps involved in gene cloning: First, transplant of a nucleus from a mammary gland cell of a Finn Dorsett sheep into the enucleated egg of a Scottish blackface ewe. Second, the nucleus-egg combination was stimulated with electricity to fuse the two and to stimulate cell division. Lastly, the fused egg was developed into an embryo in vitro, and implanted into the womb of the black-faced sheep. As a result, the impregnated black-faced sheep delivered a white-faced clone.

Here is an reference for you to think about the cloning experiment: 20 Years after Dolly the Sheep Led the Way—Where Is Cloning Now? According to the author, “cloning has had a bigger impact on science, but a smaller one on human life, than many expected.” Do you agree on the arguments of this article?