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Farm animals and experimental animal are not the only thing bing cloned nowadays, there is a quiet market that caters to individual who, for whatever reason wish to clone their pets usually in the case that the pet is deceased. In 2018, the subject of pet cloning received media attention when Actor Barbra Streisand revealed she spent $50,000 to cloned her dead 14 year old dog.<ref></ref>
There are two companies in this market that you can pay to clone your pet, A South Korean company called and Sooam Biotech and ViaGen based in Texas.<ref></ref> They use the somatic cell nuclear transfer (method used to clone Dolly the sheep). Sooam was reported to have cloned approximately 700 dogs by 2015.<ref></ref>
There are two companies in this market that you can pay to clone your pet. A South Korean company called and Sooam Biotech and ViaGen based in Texas.<ref></ref> They use the somatic cell nuclear transfer (method used to clone Dolly the sheep). Sooam was reported to have cloned approximately 700 dogs by 2015.<ref></ref>
==Plant cloning==
==Plant cloning==

Revision as of 15:10, 2 December 2019


What is cloning?

Cloning means reproducing a genetically identical copy. The process starts by introducing a nucleus into an egg whose nucleus has been taken out. The electroporation, is often used to form the two different DNA, it is an electric shock that spark the separation of the cells.[1]

History of cloning

Does cloning occur naturally?

Single-celled organisms and plants like bacteria reproduce genetically identical offspring through asexual reproduction. In this process a clone is created from the copy of a single cell from the parent organism. [2]

It also occurs in humans and other mammals, in the occurrence of the separation of a fertilized egg, two or multiple embryos are created that contain nearly the same DNA. This results in the creation of twins that have almost identical genetics but unlike bacteria they are genetically different from their parents.

Artificial cloning

Gene cloning: This procedure create genetically identical reproduction of segments of DNA. This process is very different from therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning, not only in the technical process but in the objective of the procedure. Gene cloning only intend to copy a specific gene that can be associated with a trait like blond hair, blue eyes or tall.[3]

After extracting the DNA, a library is built to arrange the DNA. It includes living bacteria coming from the extracted DNA of an organism. As an example, a colony of every gene stored in a gene library will have tens of thousands of clones.

Step 1: The DNA is taken from the organism with the selected gene. After that, it is separated into small pieces comparable to gene-sizes. Restriction Enzymes are used to separate the DNA sequence by severing the bonds within the nucleotides in the DNA strand.

Step 2: Bacterial plasmids are small circles of DNA in bacterial cells, we also used restriction enzyme to separate them.

Step 3: The cut plasmids and gene DNA are transferred into one tube, a part of the cut DNA will merge with the cut plasmids to form the new DNA combination.

Step 4: The new DNA combination is transferred into a bacteria using electroporation or heat shock. Electroporation generates medium pulses of electricity to create small holes in the bacterium. For heat shock this process is done by switching the temperature from hot to cold.

Step 5: The bacteria is grown on a culture dish and is able to grow into colonies.

Step 6: we proceed to library screening to find the colonies with the desired gene. In order to find it we must know the DNA sequence of the gene, or one that is very similar, also when the bacteria multiplies the number of colonies increase and make the detection easier.

Therapeutic cloning:

Therapeutic cloning intends to create genetically identical copy of desired cells in order to treat diseases, specific conditions and improve medicine as a whole. The main goal of this type of cloning is centered around improving healthcare, reducing waiting times for treatment and make any symptoms treatable.

Therapeutic cloning benefits a major benefit of therapeutic cloning is that the cells removed are pluripotent. Pluripotent Cells can be used to create all cells in the body expect the embryo. These cells can treat diseases in any body organs or cells by replacing damaged and dysfunctional ones. Also it reduces the risk of immunological rejection because the patient own cells are used. It is an incredible procedure because it solves issues associated to shortage of organs and long waiting times. [4]

Issues with therapeutic cloning:

Many attempts are needed to create a viable egg, it also results in the destruction of an embryo after stem cells are extracted. This fact is creating a debate over the morality associated with the procedure.


This example was written by us to show how therapeutic cloning could potentially help a patient get back to the same health condition following a major health incident.

A middle aged man is enjoying a meal at his favorite restaurant with his family. He has not been feeling well in the days prior to the meal, he had severe headaches and dizziness. Suddenly, after cutting his medium rare steak he started feeling someweakness in his face and his entire left body. He wanted to reply to his scared wife and son who were asking him what was wrong but his speech was blurred and they were not able to understand him. Couple of seconds after, he lost consciousness and his wife called an ambulance. After being treated and woken up, he discovered that h did not have full control of his body any more, he could not even move any limbs of his left body. The doctor told him that the stroke affected the left area of his brain and the only way for him to get back full capacity of his body was by using therapeutic cloning. He agreed and the doctor proceeded to extract some of his skin tissue, after that he grew it to replace the damage cells in his brain. The cells in the left area of the brain damaged by the stroke were removed and replaced by the cells grew from the patient own skin. Shortly after that surgery, the patient got back full control of his body as all the cells of his brain were now healthy and functional.


Doctors and scientists have been experimenting with therapeutic cloning for a while now in order to see the extent to which it could realistically cure diseases and specific conditions. According to (therapeutic cloning, 2008), an international team has healed a mouse with a disease similar to Parkinson’s disease by using neutrons grown in the lab from their cloned skin.

Reproductive cloning:

According to reproductive cloning is very similar to therapeutic cloning concerning the process after the extraction of the DNA but they differ in the objective. Therapeutic cloning is intended for healing while reproductive intends to create an exact copy of a living organism.

[5] procedure for reproductive cloning consists of inserting a cloned embryo into a real or artificial uterus. The embryo develops into a fetus that is carried to term. 

Dolly is the perfect example of the potential of reproductive cloning and its purpose.

Figure 1:


Why was she created? The series of experiments that led to the creation of Dolly were conducted at the Roslin Institute by a team directed by Professor Sir Ian Wilmut. They were intended to develop a more suitable method for producing genetically modified livestock. In order to achieve these experiments, the team included scientists, embryologists, surgeons, veterinarians and farm employees. Dolly was cloned from a cell taken from the mammary gland of a six-year-old Finn Dorset sheep and an egg cell from a Scottish Blackface sheep. She was born on July 5th, 2019 and her white face was a clear indication that she was a clone because she would have had a black face if she was genetically related to her surrogate mother.[6] Why has Dolly so much importance?

Dolly was not the first ever cloned mammal but she was the first one cloned from an adult cell. This birth showed that specialized cells could be used to create a perfect copy of the animal they were taken from. The value of this new information made the scientists realized that there were much more opportunities for improvement in medicine and biology especially for the possibilities created by IPS cells which are tailored stem cells.

Dolly’s life

early in her life there was a fear that Dolly could have been ageing prematurely but after some analysis were conducted no issues were found. She spent her life at the Roslin Institute and had frequent media appearances. She had six lambs with a welsh mountain ram named David. She later died from a virus responsible for lung cancer.[7]

Animal Cloning

Animal cloning as defined as the process that allows one to exactly replicate/copy the genetic, or inherited, traits of the donor animal.[8] Animal cloning enables us to propagate desirable genetics as well as facilitate more efficient movement of animal genetics.[9]

Animal cloning has rapidly become an effective technique for producing farm animals with scientist having successfully cloned a number of livestock species including cattle, sheep, goats swines and well as other various animals like mules, horses, rabbits and cats.[10] To address safety concerns about cloning and its implementation either by way of breeding or potential hazard via consumption. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a risk assessment evaluation with the goal of addressing food safety and animal health of animal clones and their offsprings.[11]

The FDA concluded there was no additional food consumption risk of cloned animals as compared to other forms of animal rearing. Animal clones were as safe to consume as animal bred from conventional practices, same conclusion was reached when examining their offsprings.[12]

How are animals cloned?

The FDA classifies animal cloning as an expansion of current conventional techniques farmers employ. Many farmers currently use assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) for breeding and rearing of their livestock such artificial insemination(AI), embryo transfer, and in vitro fertilization. Cloning is a more advanced form of these assisted reproductive technologies. [13]

Figure 1:
Most cloning today uses a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). According to the National Human Genome and Research Institute, researchers remove a mature somatic cell, such as a skin cell, from an animal that they wish to copy.[14]
Somatic Nuclear Cell Transfer[15]
The researchers also take an immature egg, or oocytes, from a female animal and remove the nucleus leaving behind the components necessary for embryo development. [16]They then transfer the DNA of the donor animal's somatic cell into the egg cell/oocyte, that has had its own DNA-containing nucleus removed.

The transfer of the DNA from the somatic cell to the empty egg can be done in two different ways. In the first method, they remove the DNA-containing nucleus of the somatic cell with a needle and inject it into the empty egg. In the second approach, they use an electrical current to fuse the entire somatic cell with the empty egg.[17] In both processes, the egg is allowed to develop into an early-stage embryo in the test-tube and then is implanted into the womb of an adult female animal. Ultimately, the adult female gives birth to an animal that has the same genetic make up as the animal that donated the somatic cell. This young animal is referred to as a clone. Reproductive cloning may require the use of a surrogate mother to allow development of the cloned embryo, as was the case for the most famous cloned organism, Dolly the sheep.[18]

Popular Misconceptions

1.Clones have the same personality as the original

This is untrue as personality and temperament are greatly influenced by the environment in which the subject grows and how it was raised. For instance you may have a dog who is typically calm, easy-going and has a generally gentle temperament. For the clone of your dog to retain the same personality, it would have to experience the same combination of events, have the exact same experiences and be raised in a similar environment.[19] Perhaps you current dog is very friendly and receptive of your guests because its experiences have overwhelmingly taught it that they are friendly and mean it or you no harm. If the clone has negative experience with a guest, it may cause a slight change in its temperament and how it views guests.[20]

2. Clones are born in test tubes

Untrue. Clones are born just like other animals despite tier portal in sci-fi movies and books.[21] A clone is similar to an identical twins, except they born at different times. Similar to how identical twins share the same DNA, clones share the same genes as the donor animal. A clone is not a mutant, nor is it a weaker version of the original animal.[22]

3. Offspring of clones are clones, with each generation becoming weaker than the original

Untrue. A clone can reproduce via sexual reproduction just like any other animal. A farmer can use natural mating or any other assisted reproductive technology, such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization to breed clones or cross breed, as they would do for any of their other farm animals. The offspring are not clones, and are the same as any other sexually-reproduced animals.[23]

4. Clones are always identical in looks.

Not necessarily. Disregarding the fact that changes can be made in the prenatal period to differentiate the clone from the original. Many clones may have slight variations in coat color and markings. twin calves might have the same genes, but look a little different. This is due to the manner in which their genes are expressed—that is, how the information in that gene is seen in the actual animal. For example, if they are Holstein cows, the pattern of their spots, or the shape of their ears may be different. Human identical twins also have the same genes, but because those genes are expressed differently in each person, they have different freckle and fingerprint patterns.[24]

Benefits of Animal cloning


The most common application of animal cloning would be producing breeding stock. By cloning the best animals, farmers are able to increase the overall quality of their herd. The cloned animals are not looked at as food or products to be sold and are instead cloned for specific desirable attributes they have that farmers would like to see reproduced in their offsprings. The cloned animals are often made to participate in natural breeding with the rest of the herd or Assisted reproductive technology. Animals are cloned to be used in breeding for the following reasons:

  • Physical Attributes: Farmers tend to seek animals who have good body types notably for features like how big they can grow, due to the fact that it can influence how much meat can be derived from them or in the case of a chickens, farmers may be interested in traits like how many egg the hen can lay.[25] Cows are especially bred for their physical features as traits like strong, heavy muscled and quick growth are very desirable traits in the eyes of the farmer.[26]
  • Immunity to Diseases: How resilient your animals are to diseases bears significant weight on the farmer’s decision to clone an animal as opposed to the conventional rearing techniques. Sick animals are significant sunk cost as taking care of them can be extremely pricey and they also command significantly lower prices should the decision be made to sell them
  • Fertility: Both male and female fertility are sought after traits farmers seek in the stock. The more offspring a female is able to give birth to the more long term revenue is generated for the farmer likewise the more females the male is able inseminate, the more revenue is generated for the farmer. Fertile animals allows for smooth transitions when the adults are past their prime, sold or sent to the slaughter house for their meat.
  • Demand: In an attempt to satisfy a specific demand, farmers may employ the use of cloning over the other conventional breeding methods as they retain more control over the outcome of development of the clone. Consumers also have varying preferences and it sometimes proves difficult to meet those demands using conventional rearing techniques. For example, a consumer needs an animal resistant to a particular disease or performs well in a certain environment. It may prove quicker as well as cheaper to have a clone tailored to your preference inseminate the rest of your females thereby increasing the resistance of you herd as opposed to betting on the gene lottery should you decide use conventional methods.[27]

Cloning in Medicine

There are many applications of animal cloning in the realm of medicine. Most are still highly experimental and in need to further testing to arrive at a consistent conclusion such as the controversial Xenotransplantation (a procedure that involves the transplantation or infusion of live animal cells or organs into a human). [28]

Although the research has tremendous upside, concerns regarding infection of recipients and possible spread to general population along with concerns whether current technology can identify such diseases have made Xenotransplantation a distant technology.[29]

The more common benefits of animal cloning lie in testing and experimentation. Discovery of a cure for a particular treatment usually begin with an animal model which tends to mimic the responses of a human body. Testing for how effective concepts like therapeutic cloning will be for humans begins in animals. And while the animals are not susceptible to diseases that afflict humans. Cloning technology may implemented to create modified models that can serve as viable test cases and facilitate the development of solutions for many diseases.[30]

Preserving Endangered or Extinct species

Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson estimates that 30,000 species per year (or three species per hour) are being driven to extinction.[31] Majestic creatures like the Amur Leopard to the Bengal tiger continue to see their number dwindle due climate change or loss of habitat via deforestation or any combination of the two.[32] It comes as no surprise that there are minds that view cloning as a way to preserve these animals.

There is tremendous upside to cloning endangered species for both the endangered species as well other species and humans. Research gained in cloning endangered species can be provide insight into other issues such as gene editing and manipulation. Results will only further what we know about cloning and may potentially provide solutions to some longstanding problems. The effects of cloning endangered species may also serve to motivate people to increase habitat conservation efforts which can have compounding positive effects on the planed. The ecosystem is also inadvertently affected and balance may be maintained if the species that contribute to it are no longer seeing dwindling numbers[33]

However there are also concerns that the effort in cloning endangered may be for naught if the primary issue for the demise is not addressed, mainly habitat loss. The undertaking of cloning endangered species are also costly and there is a fear that such cost will take away from meaningful efforts to preserve the species. Cloning today is still very inefficient, with about 98 percent of embryos failing. This makes it difficult to justify why project should be undertaken especially considering a surrogate from the same endangered specie would be required and harm to that very specie would be counter intuitive.[34]

The idea of bringing back extinct species is another popular discussion especially with movies like Jurassic park portraying the revival of dinosaurs using cloning and gene editing. In 2009, scientist almost succeeded in resurrecting an extinct wild mountain goat called Bucardo by making clones of him, however, clones died after birth. [35]

Mammoths are another interesting case due to the fact that mammoth remains have been found in the frozen North. However, there have significant ethical argument made that such an action would be “unnatural” and amounts to “playing God” with much of the same arguments against endangered species not far behind. There has also been positive argument made in favour of reviving extinct race such as the enlightenment into history we stand to gain if we bring back such a historic mammal and knowledge in evolution and gene therapy we stand to gain from undertaking such an experiment.[36]

Pet cloning


There are two companies in this market that you can pay to clone your pet. A South Korean company called and Sooam Biotech and ViaGen based in Texas.[38] They use the somatic cell nuclear transfer (method used to clone Dolly the sheep). Sooam was reported to have cloned approximately 700 dogs by 2015.[39]

Plant cloning

Plant cloning is the act of producing an exact copy of a plant form the original plant through asexual propagation. The process involves taking a stem cutting from the mother plant and planting it into a rooting medium. Shortly thereafter, new roots will begin to develop from the cut area and a new plant with the same genetic structure of the mother plant is born.[40] Cloning plants is a quick and efficient way propagate plants while at the same time keeping the characteristics of the mother plant.[41]

Ethics of Cloning

In bioethics, cloning ethics refers to several ethical positions concerning cloning practice and possibilities, especially animal cloning. Gallup, which is an American analytics and advisory company, found that there was a full 64% of Americans believed that animal cloning is morally wrong, yet there is almost no public discussion of this science and no demand for tighter regulations or governmental control over it [42]. On the other hand, cloning provides some advantages to humans and animals. Many animal cloning projects are intended for human purposes, such as disease control, better food production, or entertainment. The projects are also inspired as ends in themselves by interest or concern for animals. Many current projects, for example, are aimed at cloning endangered or even extinct species. A gaur — a type of wild ox on the verge of extinction. Animal cloning may also be taken part in American sports. Now that deer have been successfully cloned, researchers at Texas A&M are attempting to clone bucks with larger antlers, which will be attractive to hunters [43]. Once perfected, it would be possible to use cloning techniques to clone animals used in any competitive sport, such as race horses.

As the state of animal cloning science, it raises two moral arguments:

1. Cloned animals do not deserve to experience the pain and suffering in the cloning process Recent data showed that the efficiency of animal cloning was only about 1 to 2% in surrogate animals, which means about 98% of the embryos fail to produce a live animal offspring [44]. Also, in one study of cloned pigs, researchers reported a 50% mortality rate for the live offspring, with five out of 10 dying between three and 130 days of age from ailments [45]. The claim believed that animals should not be experienced these pains. For the counterclaim, they contradicted what is the Accepted Practise Standard in pain and suffering of animals. Currently, there is lots of animals are eaten, hunted, experimented and locked up. In areas outside biotechnology research where the same level of pain and suffering is morally permissible, animal cloning should not be condemned. Also, there are potential benefits to human medicine, food production or pharmaceutical applications. Cloning efficiency rates and health status will be improved, so the minimal suffering of cloned animals may be outweighed by the treatment benefits to human beings.

2. Cloning science is to objectify and commodify the animals The Missyplicity Project, which is created to clone a beloved dog who had died, is worth US 3.7 million. According to the ASPCA, there is a hugh numbers of animals entering shelters currently. By their estimates, 8 to 12 millions companion animals enter shelters, and 60–70% are euthanized [46]. The claim believes that the money invested in the Project should be better re-allocated to serve animal welfare interests. However, the counterclaim believes that how to redistribute scarce goods like money is a personal choice. There are hundreds of ways that people could spend $20,000 on luxury items that could be used instead to save the lives of animals in shelters. Why only limit attack to those who would spend $20,000 to clone their beloved pet.

Human Cloning and Artificial Intelligence in the Future

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence, scientists were trying to clone human mind to live forever. Mind clones are cognizant of digital beings, able to judge, share feeling, think, and memorize. It would be functionally identical to the living biological original mind simply existing now in two different substrates, one digital and one flesh. For example, your mind clone and you will cast the same vote, love the same children, and receive the same jury duty summons, and when your physical body dies you will live on, forever, as your mind clone [47].


Abraham Ali Ho Lim Rico David Ajayi
Beedie School of Business
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC, Canada
Beedie School of Business
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC, Canada
Beedie School of Business
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, BC, Canada


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