Cloning Uses
There are many possible uses for cloning. On this page, you will learn about cloning for medical purposes, cloning animals, and cloning humans.
Cloning for Medical Purposes
There are many medical benefits that could come from cloning. One is that animals could be cloned for disease research. This would allow scientists to have many of the same test subject with the same DNA for researching diseases. Also, stem cells can be taken from the cloned embryos for research and stem cell transplants. Stem cells can transform into other parts of the body, so they are a useful cell. However, taking the stem cells from an embryo kills the embryo. Finally, certain animals, such as cows, are being genetically altered so that they can create drugs or proteins used for medicines. Cloning would speed up this process, and would allow more genetically altered animals to exist.
Below: Medical Sign from the Learn Genetics website
Below: Medical Sign from the Learn Genetics website
Cloning Animals
One reason animals are cloned is to revive and protect endangered and extinct species. Theoretically, all that should be needed to clone a species would be a good DNA sample and an animal similar to it to serve as the mother. In reality, this probably couldn't happen, due to much DNA of older animals, such as dinosaurs, being destroyed. Also, cloning can be used to clone a dead pet. There is at least one company in the US that will clone cats, and they are working on cloning dogs. However, the cloned pet may not be exactly the same as the original.
Below: Picture of a dinosaur, an extinct animal that scientists are trying to clone, from the Learn Genetics website
Below: Picture of a dinosaur, an extinct animal that scientists are trying to clone, from the Learn Genetics website
Cloning Humans
Cloning humans is a very controversial subject (see controversy page). However, it could probably be done. Once an embryo is cloned, there are two things that can be done with it. First, there is therapeutic cloning, where the stem cells are taken from the embryo and the embryo is killed. There is also reproductive cloning, where the embryo is put into a mother to be born. Two reasons for reproductive cloning are to help infertile people have babies and to replace a dead child. However, there are some risks in cloning humans, that may affect the baby's health or cause other problems.
Below: Picture of a human baby from Learn Genetics website
Below: Picture of a human baby from Learn Genetics website