We explain what cloning is and what its fundamental principles are. Also, its history, and existing types of cloning.
Human cloning was banned by UNESCO in 1997.What is cloning?
Cloning is the process whereby, in a non-sexual way, two cells are obtained, molecules or organisms identical already developed. A clone is a copy organism in terms of its genetics.
Cloning starts from three main concepts:
- The cloning process starts from a developed organism since it seeks to make an exact copy of that organism.
- This copy is obtained through a non-sexual way, since this does not allow making identical copies due to the diversity of nature.
- What is cloned first are the cells, and what is needed is the sequence of DNA of the organism.
The molecular cloning, for example, it is used for biological experiments such as for the mass production of protein.
In 1997 it was an event of knowledge world cloning a mammal (a sheep named Dolly) that brought controversy around the world. On the one hand, a great admiration and on the other, a strong rejection and criticism. In any case, cloning in plants was already known a century earlier.
Human cloning was banned by the UNESCO. In 1997 the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and the Human rights. Article 11 clearly states that practices contrary to the law must not be allowed in the countries. dignity of human being, which includes cloning.
Some of the purposes of cloning are:
- In animals, improve the fertility of species and research.
- Investigation of diseases to find possible cures.
- Improve drug production.
- Perform organ transplants.
Types of cloning
- Cell cloning.As the same name says, it is the process by which cells are cloned, creating cultures of them.
- Molecular cloning. This type of cloning is used mainly to carry out all kinds of experiments.
- Natural cloning. It's the kind of reproduction in which there is only one progenitor and the same is asexual. It occurs in unicellular animals and some plants. This classification includes twins.
- Therapeutic clonation. His objective is to be able to reproduce tissues and organs for medical purposes.
- Reproductive cloning. Its purpose is to reproduce a human being the same as another. However, this procedure, although possible, is totally illegal. The most famous example of this was Dolly the sheep.
- Cloning species. They generally focus on the reproduction of extinct animals. However, these procedures have not been very successful to date, as newborns have died quickly. The main conflict In this type of cloning, it is the conservation of the DNA of the species, since they have not been adequately conserved.