Fingerprints and Cloning

Fingerprints and Human Cloning

Fingerprints and Human Cloning

Introduction

The term cloning was first introduced at the beginning of the 20th century. Its root is the ancient Greek term which has a meaning of “twig” and referring to the process whereby a new plant can be created from a twig. A basic characteristic of cloning is that sexual reproduction is bypassed. The production of cloned DNA fragments, cells, or embryos is an important technique in the toolbox of molecular biotechnology. Cloning requires knowledge of embryology, genetics, and reproductive technology. It complements two other key technologies, genetic engineering (the transfer of genetic material from one organism to another) and genomics (the mapping, sequencing, and functional analysis of the entire genetic makeup of an organism).

Cloning Humans

The idea of human cloning in the sense of creating or copying a person has surfaced in myth, religious discourse, and popular culture for a long time. In a context of the general techno-scientific optimism in the 1960s and 1970s, human cloning as a potentially profitable option was put forward by scientists such as Nobel laureates Joshua Lederberg and James D. Watson. At the end of the 20th century, the birth of Dolly shifted the possibility of cloning humans from science fiction to science practice. A distinction was introduced with regard to what happens after the application of nuclear replacement technology to human cells. The creation of a cloned human embryo for use (and eventual destruction) in research is now distinguished from the reproduction of a human being (Kuhn, 2002).

Therapeutic cloning refers to SCNT to clone a human embryo from which stem cells can be derived for therapies or cure, applications of the technique that do not involve the creation of genetically identical individuals through implanting the embryos into a womb. Therapeutic cloning is also referred to more critically as research cloning to indicate that the therapeutic prospects lie far in the future. Reproductive cloning, by contrast, is the use of SCNT to clone a human embryo that is subsequently implanted into a woman's womb for gestation. The main argument in favor of reproductive cloning is the expansion of reproduction opportunities. Cloning advocates have challenged the distinction between therapeutic and reproductive cloning by arguing that reproductive cloning is a technical extension of IVF and as a form of infertility treatment is, therefore, a therapy. Scientists today apply a variety of cloning strategies. Every biology student clones genes by transferring and amplifying DNA fragments in unicellular organisms such as bacteria (Klotzko, 2001).

This strategy generates multiple copies of a DNA fragment and can be used to introduce a gene into the genetic makeup of distinct species. It is still not reliably known and no fact of human cloning. But the clone is essentially identical genetic copy of the person. It is known that even in identical twins papillary pattern of the fingers is different. Anyone can predict how the situation will be the situation with the clones? It's just identical twin of another person, only delayed in ...