Cloning

Cloning is the process of producing individual <a href="/facts/Organism/j8JkL09u">organisms</a> with identical <a href="/facts/Genome/31Sm08JT">genomes</a>, either by natural or artificial means. In nature, some organisms produce clones through <a href="/facts/Asexual_reproduction/HpovW0VS">asexual reproduction</a>; this reproduction of an organism by itself without a mate is known as <a href="/facts/Parthenogenesis/gHzfaYpp">parthenogenesis</a>. In the field of <a href="/facts/Biotechnology/8eFnI6FB">biotechnology</a>, cloning is the process of creating cloned organisms of <a href="/facts/Cell_(biology)/bLM9UQvy">cells</a> and of DNA fragments.
The artificial cloning of organisms, sometimes known as reproductive cloning, is often accomplished via <a href="/facts/Somatic-cell_nuclear_transfer/WhD31DdC">somatic-cell nuclear transfer</a> (SCNT), a cloning method in which a viable <a href="/facts/Embryo/9QHnLVLN">embryo</a> is created from a <a href="/facts/Somatic_cell/Emn7gk9A">somatic cell</a> and an <a href="/facts/Egg_cell/gJyW3W3W">egg cell</a>. In 1996, <a href="/facts/Dolly_(sheep)/P1kNJQeY">Dolly the sheep</a> achieved notoriety for being the first mammal cloned from a somatic cell. Another example of artificial cloning is <a href="/facts/Molecular_cloning/Te56373e">molecular cloning</a>, a technique in <a href="/facts/Molecular_biology/YgqU35ub">molecular biology</a> in which a single living cell is used to clone a large population of cells that contain identical DNA molecules.
In <a href="/facts/Bioethics/deT0les8">bioethics</a>, there are a variety of <a href="/facts/Ethics_of_cloning/IEqfaEcs">ethical positions regarding the practice and possibilities of cloning</a>. The use of <a href="/facts/Embryonic_stem_cell/P1n1eS1p">embryonic stem cells</a>, which can be produced through SCNT, in some stem cell research <a href="/facts/Stem_cell_controversy/YVa4gSeu">has attracted controversy</a>. Cloning has been proposed as a means of <a href="/facts/De-extinction/vgHRND7m">reviving extinct species</a>. In popular culture, the concept of cloning—particularly human cloning—is often depicted in <a href="/facts/Science_fiction/d9hE2Lwt">science fiction</a>; depictions commonly involve themes related to identity, the recreation of historical figures or extinct species, or cloning for exploitation (e.g. cloning soldiers for warfare).

Cloning open-in-new

Cloning