CloningEssay title: CloningCloning is the process of creating an identical copy of something. This means that every single bit of DNA is the same between the two. In biology, it collectively refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments (molecular cloning), cells (cell cloning), or organisms. There are different types of cloning and cloning technologies that can be used for other purposes besides producing the genetic twin of another organism. A basic understanding of the different types of cloning is key to taking an informed stance on current public policy issues and making the best possible personal decisions. The following three types of cloning technologies are: recombinant DNA technology or DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning.
Recombinant DNA Technology or DNA CloningRecombinant DNA technology, or DNA cloning refers to the transfer of a DNA fragment of interest 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 1970s, and it has become a common practice in molecular biology labs today. Scientists studying a particular gene often use bacterial plasmids to generate multiple copies of the same gene. Plasmids are self-replicating extra-chromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome. Plasmids and other types of cloning vectors are used by Human Genome Project researchers to copy genes and other pieces of chromosomes to generate enough identical material for further study. To clone a gene, a DNA fragment containing the gene of interest is isolated from chromosomal DNA using restriction enzymes and then united with a plasmid that has been cut with the same restriction enzymes. When the fragment of chromosomal DNA is joined with its cloning vector in the lab, it is called a recombinant DNA molecule.
Reproductive CloningReproductive cloning is a technology used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal. In a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), scientists transfer genetic material from the nucleus of a donor adult cell to an egg whose nucleus, and thus its genetic material, has been removed. The reconstructed egg containing the DNA from a donor cell must be treated with chemicals or electric current in order to stimulate cell division. Once the cloned embryo reaches a suitable stage, it is transferred to the uterus of a female host where it continues to develop until birth. Animals created by using nuclear transfer technology are not truly an identical clones of the donor animal. Only the clones chromosomal or nuclear DNA is the same as the donor. Some of the clones genetic materials come from the mitochondria in the cytoplasm of the enucleated egg. Mitochondria, which are organelles that serve as power sources to the cell, contain their own short segments of DNA. Acquired mutations in mitochondrial DNA are believed to play an important role in the aging process.
Therapeutic CloningTherapeutic cloning, also called, embryo cloning, is the production of human embryos for use in research. The goal of this process is not to create cloned human beings, but rather to harvest stem cells that can be used to study human development and to treat disease. Stem cells are important to biomedical researchers because they can be used to generate virtually any type of specialized cell in the human body. Stem cells are extracted from the egg after it has divided for 5 days. The egg at this stage of development is called a blastocyst. The extraction process destroys the embryo, which raises a variety of ethical concerns. Many researchers hope that one day stem cells can be used to serve as replacement cells to treat heart disease, Alzheimers, cancer, and other diseases.
In November 2001, scientists from Advanced Cell Technologies (ACT), a biotechnology company in Massachusetts, announced that they had cloned the first human embryos for the purpose of advancing therapeutic research. To do this, they collected eggs from womens ovaries and then removed the genetic material from these eggs with a needle less than 2/10,000th of an inch wide. A skin cell was inserted inside the enucleated egg to serve as a new nucleus. The egg began to divide after it was stimulated with a chemical called ionomycin. The results were limited in success. Although this process was carried out with eight eggs, only three began dividing, and only one was able to divide into six cells before stopping.
The Cell-to-Cell Interface in Nature
The first human living cells, which are made up of human cells and embryonic stem cells, were shown in the 1940s, when the company AGR Energy, Inc. was formed – the same company that developed the “super-capacitor” technology, using the technique for making solar cells. In 1969, AGR Energy was renamed to Biophysical Research Laboratories – a new company that produced high-tech cells for the study of energy. Since then, a number of technologies have emerged, including a cell-to-cell interface with a special arrangement called the Bose-2 approach.
The Bose-2 approach is an advanced non-invasive technology, designed to treat cell damage by combining two different molecules in the same cell (the T cell and the A cell). The technology uses a combination of simple chemicals and small molecules. A “small molecule” is formed in the endosymbiont of the cell, and small molecules are removed to produce a cell in a region where the cell is expected to be inactive or, if it does develop, die. As such, the T cell is put back in as the A cell, but the biophysical damage to the T cell cell persists, and the cell begins aging within the same cycle of living cells. The Bose-2 approach enables an interdisciplinary team from the laboratory, using current technologies, to identify molecules in the cells that cause problems in cell biology, improve the quality and function of existing cells, and minimize the costs of cells for cell repair and therapeutic applications.
The Cell-to-Cell Interface (CRISPR)
Criminologists have long used technology to create CRISPR for research purposes, including the creation of high-throughput sequencing and DNA editing. For example, the International Center for Cancer Research (ICRC) in New York State patented the Cas6 gene. The CRISPR technology is available today, called CRISPR-Cas9-M. The Cas6 gene helps to control many cell parameters, including telomere length, gene expression, and inflammation. One of the key limitations to this technology is that the CRISPR-Cas11 can not be amplified to a very high level without destroying all of the RNA in the cell. Consequently, some of the cells that have been engineered to not be effective with CRISPR are put back into that control cell by adding the control sequence and gene sequence. This prevents any of the cells that don’t work after all this work occurring in the CRISPR-Cas9-M (the ones that cannot be turned off on a regular basis due to CRISPR) and hence the cells not being good to have CRISPR inserted into them.
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