Stepping Into The Future: An Insight into Cloning and Its Impact on Society

By Vaidehi Zala

Saltman QuarterlyStudent
··6 min read

Across scientific history, researchers have tirelessly tried to bring the concept of cloning to reality. Cloning is the process of replicating a cell, tissue, or organism to reproduce an identical twin. This copied genetic material is referred to as a clone. Specifically, the image of human cloning has long captured imaginations of what the future may bring, but in the recent decade, there have been many grand advancements in cloning technology. These advancements have ultimately brought society closer to the far-fetched creative notion of cloning. Before commencing discussions of the various types of cloning, it is important to understand what the difference between natural and artificial cloning is.

What is Natural Cloning?

While artificial cloning may be new for humans, natural cloning is commonly observed in nature. Most plants, single-celled organisms, and prokaryotes like bacteria and archaea perform asexual reproduction. During this, they undergo mitosis, or cell division, where one cell divides into two genetically identical daughter, or sister cells. After the chromosomes are replicated into two new nuclei, equal amounts of chromosomes are in both the parent and daughter cells. Not only is asexual reproduction seen in prokaryotes, but also in eukaryotes such as the hydra plant. The hydra plant is a miniature palm-tree look-alike with several swaying tentacles. They uniquely reproduce asexually through budding. Every twenty days, the entire organism renews itself by a new hydra, or bud, forming on the hydra’s body. This new bud continues to grow until it has sufficient nutrients. Eventually, the bud breaks away and acts as an identical copy of the original plant. From these naturally occurring examples, it is clear that cloning isn’t a new concept but due to advancing technology, reproducing identical organisms can also be completed artificially.

The idea of artificial cloning began to evolve beginning in the nineteenth century, but in recent decades, animals such as Snuppy the Dog and Dolly the Sheep have become real outcomes of these new studies. What was once an unimaginable idea is now becoming actuality, so let’s closely examine the types of artificial cloning.

What is Artificial Cloning?

Scientists are conducting three types of manufactured cloning around the world, but the spotlight is on gene cloning and reproductive cloning. The simpler one of the two is gene cloning. Researchers routinely use this method of copying genes to advance overall genetic understanding. Gene cloning is a common practice in molecular biology that allows researchers to create additional isolated, identical genes for applications such as sequencing or mutagenesis. Mutagenesis is the way in which DNA sequences are altered to mutate the gene. The way the process of gene cloning works is by inserting “foreign DNA,” also referred to as a gene from the specified organism, into a vector. A vector is the genetic material of the carrier that is readily accepted by the host cell. This host cell carries the inserted DNA segment. Vectors include viruses, bacteria, yeast cells, or plasmids which are carried by bacteria. Once the insertion is completed, it’s kept in a laboratory setting, allowing the gene to multiply over and over again. After the genes have been cloned, the researchers begin using these vectors for reproductive cloning.

What are the Applications of Gene Cloning?

Though they can be applied for further replication, gene cloning on its own is also quite impressive. An infamous example of gene cloning is the production of a diabetes drug. In the 1970s, researchers successfully produced human insulin in bacteria for the treatment of diabetes, a chronic disease where the pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin or the body can’t utilize the produced insulin to maintain homeostatic levels. In 1982, the E. coli bacteria proved to be an efficient vector to carry and replicate human insulin. The active hormone was inserted into the enterobacterium, usually found in the human gut. After much trial and error, it was determined that recombinant DNA technology, like gene cloning, allowed for the first functional, therapeutic protein product to be created. This changed the course of medical history for pharmaceutical companies and the affected individuals. The product that allowed diabetes to be treated with human insulin was named Humulin. Thus, gene cloning provided scientists the opportunity to alter the lives of those affected by the disease, improving their quality of life.

What is Reproductive Cloning?

Now that the foundation for cloning has been formed, a discussion of reproductive cloning can be initiated. According to NHGRI’s Cloning Fact Sheet, reproductive cloning is responsible for the physical reproduction of an animal. It is understandable if one has a tough time understanding how one gene can be used to create an entire clone of an organism, but it is easier to reckon once it is broken down. First, one must understand this process begins by finding the animal that will be cloned. This animal will be considered the donor, and a mature somatic cell will be extracted from it. A somatic cell is any cell in the body other than sperm and egg cells. This cell is crucial as it will later fuse with an unfertilized egg from an adult female animal and be inserted into the surrogate mother who will birth the cloned animal. However, due to the extracted cell being any body cell type from skin to muscle cells, researchers are given much more freedom in what they must remove from the donor. The somatic cell is important because DNA will be drawn from it and later fused with an egg cell. The egg cell or oocyte is removed from an adult female animal, different from the donor animal. The oocyte must lack the nucleus organelle which contains DNA or the genetic material for the development of an organism. It cannot contain a nucleus because the genetic information for the reproduced clone must be derived from the donor and the somatic cell that was previously extracted.

Now, both the somatic cell from the donor and an unfertilized egg from a female animal are present. Fusion of both can occur in two ways. The first is through electrical currents to blend DNA from the somatic cell into the oocyte. Another way is by first removing the nucleus of the somatic cell with the use of a needle and then injecting the nucleus into the empty egg. Both of these methods are efficient and allow the egg to develop into an embryo. Finally, once the embryo reaches early-stage development, it is inserted into the womb of another female animal, acting as a surrogate for the donor. The artificially induced baby will later be birthed and possess the genotype of the experimental somatic cell that was initially extracted from the donor animal. In this procedure of reproductive cloning, the baby will be the clone.

Reproductive Cloning Map (Illustrated by Leo Harris)

Though the entire practice of cloning is astonishing and it’s extraordinary where science has gone, gene cloning is more commonly being done by researchers at the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) than reproductive cloning. Gene cloning is more prevalent in day-to-day studies in higher education, as it provides scientists with the opportunity to isolate and replicate genes that are being closely studied for their own testing. Additionally, due to ethical concerns, NHGRI does not clone humans or any mammals. No matter how far science pushes, it is crucial to prioritize moral principles and question how much humans can interfere with nature. Though the field of somatic cell nuclear transfer is still young, as years have gone on, the lifespan of the clone has increased exponentially with the maximum being fifteen years! Cloning holds great promise for scientific advancement, but its societal impact necessitates careful consideration and proper ethical evaluation to ensure responsible integration of the practice into our community.

Works Cited