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About Reproductive Cloning


Reproductive cloning is the production of a genetic duplicate of an existing organism. A human clone would be a genetic copy of an existing person.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is the most common cloning technique. SCNT involves putting the nucleus of a body cell into an egg from which the nucleus has been removed. This produces a clonal embryo, which is triggered to begin developing with chemicals or electricity. Placing this cloned embryo into the uterus of a female animal and bringing it to term creates a clone, with genes identical to those of the animal from which the original body cell was taken.

The Basic Science

Frequently Asked Questions

Arguments Pro & Con

More than a dozen cloned mammals have been produced with SCNT, but claims by rogue scientists to have cloned a human child have been false.

Human reproductive cloning is almost universally opposed. Overwhelming majorities reject it in opinion surveys. Many international agreements and countries (though not the United States) formally prohibit it.

Some oppose reproductive cloning because of safety considerations. Animal cloning is seldom successful, and many scientists believe that reproductive cloning can never be made safe. Human reproductive cloning would also threaten the psychological well-being of cloned children, open the door to more powerful genetic manipulation technologies, and raise other social and ethical concerns.



Cellular reprogramming and bans on reproductive cloningby Jesse ReynoldsBiopolitical TimesJanuary 19th, 2010A recent paper argues that prohibitions against human reproductive cloning should be strengthened to cover any method.
Cloning for Kicksby Pete ShanksGeneWatch (Sep-Oct 2009)The enthusiasm for cloning animals has survived the failure of the technique to develop as once expected.
Anti-cloning law renewed for 7 years [Israel]by Judy Siegel-ItzkovichThe Jerusalem PostOctober 13th, 2009A bill to extend until 2016 the law that prohibits human cloning for reproductive purposes was passed by the Israeli Knesset plenum.
Russia extends human cloning banRIA NovostiOctober 2nd, 2009Russia has extended a moratorium on human cloning that expired two years ago by five years
Monkeys, Mitochondria, and the Human Germline by Jesse ReynoldsBioethics ForumSeptember 18th, 2009The researchers into radically novel techniques display an alarmingly casual attitude toward risks to the potential children born, the difficulties and dangers of obtaining the large numbers of the required women's eggs, and the potentially dire social consequences of human inheritable genetic modification.
Transhumanist libertarian: Still against democracyby Jesse ReynoldsBiopolitical TimesAugust 26th, 2009Permeating libertarian Ron Bailey's response to CGS's Marcy Darnovsky is a disturbing hostility to democracy.
Dog Cloning Center to Open Next Yearby Kim Tong-hyungKorea TimesAugust 13th, 2009A South Korea-based biotech firm plans to open a research center for canine cloning early next year.
Would you like them with a mouse?by Pete ShanksBiopolitical TimesAugust 3rd, 2009Japanese scientists report that mice have (almost) been fooled into making mammoth eggs.
Live mice and sperm - both from stem cells - create new social and ethical challengesPublic interest group calls for federal oversight of reproductive usesJuly 26th, 2009Recent developments in cell reprogramming methods raise significant new ethical and social challenges.
Scientists Breed Mice From Skin Cells in ChinaDevelopment May Offer an Alternative to Controversial Embryonic Stem Cellsby Rob SteinWashington PostJuly 23rd, 2009Scientists have bred mice from induced pluripotent stem cells, raising alarm that the advance could lead to human cloning and designer babies.
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