Cloning
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What is cloning?
Cloning is to make an identical copy of the parent genes. A difference of cloning compared to sexual reproduction is that the offspring is an identical copy to the parent in every way. There is no variation of the genes. They are an exact copy.
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In a science experiment in Seoul University in Korea, Afghan hounds were cloned. The first uncloned parent, Tai, was cloned (this process uses stem cells) to create an offspring named Snuppy. Snuppy was the first ever cloned dog. Snuppy lived to be 10 years old and died during treatment for cancer. However, when Snuppy was healthy and young, he was cloned to create four puppies. One died at four days old, but at the time of the article, the puppies were nine months old and all of them were healthy.
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Scientists will now watch two things in these puppies. One will be their health and two will be the aging process. They will determine if cloning makes aging happen faster and they will determine if the health of animals is at risk because of cloning.
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Why is this important in our world?
Scientists are using the puppy cloning experiment to see if animals can be bred and then cloned for traits that are helpful in certain areas for research and industry. Since the Snuppy experiment, researchers are also hoping to learn more about the development of cancer which can help all animals and even humans.
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The world's first cloned dog, Snuppy, was used to create more clones. These are the three surviving dogs cloned from Snuppy's stem cells.
KIM ET AL/SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Tai (left) and Snuppy (right). Snuppy became the world's first cloned dog when it was born in 2005.
SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY VIA GETTY IMAGES