About cloning

Cloning is a technique scientists use to make exact genetic copies of living things. Genes, cells, tissues, and even whole animals can all be cloned. Some clones already exist in nature. Single-celled organisms like bacteria make exact copies of themselves each time they reproduce. But people still disscuss that if cloning is ethic. It obviously has a lot of advantages but, like it’s advantages it has plenty of disadvatages. DNA cloning refers to a process where a DNA fragment of interest is transferred from one organism to a self – replicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid. The DNA of interest can then be propagated in a foreign host cell. This technology has been around since the 1970’s, and it has become a common practice in molecular biology laboratories today. This technology is important for learning about other related technologies, such as gene therapy, genetic engineering of organisms, and sequencing genomes. Gene therapy can be used to treat certain genetic conditions by introducing virus vectors that carry corrected copies of faulty genes into the cells of a host organism. Genes from different organisms that improve taste and nutritional value or provide resistance to particular types of disease can be used to genetically engineer food crops. But we also should keep in mind about the disadvantages of cloning. It has many side effects for example; researchers have observed some adverse health effects in sheep and other mammals that have been cloned. These include an increase in birth size and a variety of defects in vital organs, such as the liver, brain and heart which is pretty dangerous fpr a living mammal.Another potential problem that’s been proved by the sicentests is, centers on the relative age of the cloned cell’s chromosomes. As cells go through their normal rounds of division, the tips of the chromosomes, called telomeres, shrink. Over time, the telomeres become so short that the cell can no longer divide and, consequently, the cell dies. Dolly, who was cloned from the cell of a 6-year-old sheep, had chromosomes that were shorter than those of other sheep her age. That’s why so many people are disscussing if cloning is ethic and can it be used in the future. In my opinion it can be very useful for copying healthy cells and genes for who has damaged ones.