Decades ago, making clones existed only in the pages of science fiction. Cloning today is a booming field of scientific research that can help treat human disease. An animal that is a clone is a replica of an animal that has contributed its genetic information (DNA) for its development. Scientists can clone human genes as well.
What’s the Cloning?
Clones are organisms that are exact gene copies. Every single bit of their DNA is just the same.
Clones can happen naturally—the identical twins are just one of several examples. Or scientists can make them in the lab. Below, find out how Can Cloning Help Save Lives.
The Cloning Process
The cells contain DNA. In basic words, scientists separate DNA from one of the cells to produce a clone. Then they insert this DNA in a female animal’s egg cell. Then they put the clone egg in the womb of the female animal to expand and develop. This is a very complicated scientific procedure, and it is difficult to succeed. Many clone animals may die before birth. Even after birth, cloned animals can face more health problems than average. They also have a shorter life expectancy.
The first cloned animal was a sheep called Dolly, who was born in 1996. Since then, many other clone animals have been included, including rats, cats, goats, pigs, cows, and monkeys. There are no human clones, but this technology is likely to exist. Cloning humans is a very controversial issue.
Using Cloning to Eradicate Disease
The gene is a special part of the DNA. Scientists can clone genes by transferring them from one organism to another and replicating them. This is called DNA cloning or DNA recombinant technology.
Cloning a human embryo remains the most controversial method of Cloning. It is called therapeutic Cloning. The purpose is to produce human embryos for study. Many people are opposed to this form of Cloning. It is because human embryos have been destroyed during research.
Stem cell therapy is one of the most promising areas of research. In 2013, scientists at the Oregon Health & Science University became the first to clone embryos into stem cells. Stem cells are important in medicine because they can become a cell of any type.
For, e.g., if you had kidney failure and needed a new kidney. A family member may be close enough to donate a kidney. Or you may be lucky enough to find an organ donor. There is a chance, though, that the body may reject the organ. Anti-rejection drugs can decrease the risk. But they will also lower your immune system.
Stem cells can solve the problem of organ rejection. Stem cells can transform into any cell. So, they can build the organs or tissue you need using your cells. Since the cells are your own, the body would be less likely to attack them. While stem cells have a lot of potentials, the difficulty of getting the cells exists. Stem cells are the most abundant in embryos. Scientists may harvest these cells from umbilical cords and other tissues of the adult body.
The Challenges of the Process
Adult stem cells are more difficult to harvest. They may have less ability than embryonic stem cells. The challenge then is how to create embryonic stem cells for adults. This is where researchers from the Oregon University of Health & Medicine come in. They used donated human embryos, removed the egg’s DNA. Then they replaced it with DNA from adult skin cells.
The laboratory then used a mixture of chemicals and electrical pulses to help the embryo grow and produce stem cells. Theoretically, these stem cells could create organs and tissues for the person who donated their skin cell DNA. This research is very promising. But, the Cloning of embryos for stem cells remains highly controversial.
What are the advantages of Cloning?
- Cloning doesn’t need to involve making a whole new person
Imagine that a human has a damaged liver. What if the scientists could clone the liver cells? So that they can create a new liver and then transplant it. That will be an easy way to solve the problem of organ scarcity that currently exists. We may also use the cloning process to repair or create new cells to replace damaged cells. This may cure diseases and genetic disorders.
- It removes the barrier of infertility
Cloning uses adult somatic cells. It is a process that allows someone to have a child that is biologically their own. Even if the individual has a reproductive system that does not help fertility, the doctors will take the somatic cells and insert them into the embryo, producing a new life. This invention would allow everyone to become a parent, even though they weren’t sexually involved.
- It could extend human life capabilities
In the developing world, the average life span of the top nations is nearing 85 years. Even in the United States, men and women have an average lifetime of more than 70 years.
Cloning could help prolong life even longer. It could also be a way to get the rest of the world up to current standards. For, e.g., in Sierra Leone, an adult male’s average lifetime is just 49.3 years.
- Biological children may have been born to same-gender couples
Instead of using sperm or egg banks to build an embryo, Cloning would allow same-gender partners to have a child that was biologically their own. For women, direct implantation of adult somatic cells does not even require a male donor. Except for the initial embryo fertilization process. The same would be true for men about the egg requiring fertilization.
- It could restore family balance
One of the greatest tragedies of life is the loss of an infant. Seven out of every 1,000 children under five in the United States die. According to CNN’s information, about 1,300 children are killed every year by weapons in the United States. Often this is because of sickness or illness. There are also accidents and unanticipated incidents that may take a child’s life. Cloning offers a process through which parents can effectively balance their grief by having another child. Although the new life would be different, it would still be similar. And it could temper some of the grief experienced.
Can Cloning save lives?
It’s safe to say that Cloning will save a life. Not just that, but in the future, cloning technologies and stem cell therapy could transform the way we think of curing diseases. But should we use it? There’s a whole host of ethical problems coming up in this new science territory. And just because we can do anything doesn’t mean that we should.
The Bottom Line
One day, scientists expect that cloned cells can cure serious diseases. These include heart attacks, diabetes, and spinal cord injuries. Scientists hope to remove stem cells from a 5-day-old cloned embryo and develop specific lines of cells that can cure the disease.
