I know cloning sounds like a fictional plot from a sci-fi movie, but in 2020, this is a real practice.

There are ways we can help animals to become healthier through this. An example of this is when goats were cloned to produce more of a protein called antithrombin. The protein antithrombin goes through the bloodstream and reduces blood clots. They were bred now having more quantities of this protein. The research can be found by clicking this link.

When an organism is cloned, cells from that organism are harvested. They are then placed into the reproductive system of another, in attempt to grow the cells. Here is a more specific glance into the process of cloning.

A somatic cell is taken from the being that is going to be cloned. Then the nucleus of that cell is extracted. Why do we need to remove the nucleus? Well because that is what holds the organism’s DNA, which is what we need in order to clone it. The rest of the cell is discarded. After that, the nucleus of an egg cell is taken out from a donor organism, and replaced with the somatic cell nucleus. In hopes of the transfer working, they stimulate cell division in the new egg. With success, the egg divides. After division, the egg will be fertilized and transferred to a surrogate animal, which will carry the egg to term. The transfer has a high chance of failure, which is what makes the process an expensive one.

Human cloning is not yet possible. There is no federal US law that strictly prohibits it, though in 13 states it isn’t permitted.

Scientists are working on better ways of animal cloning. Animals that are cloned are known to have problems and mutations. There are health risks as well. The focus is to adjust the cloning process in order to produce healthy animals. Pushing forward in these sciences gives us hope that in the future we will have healthy animal clones, and we will continue to advance forward.