Reproductive cloning (Scientific Advances)

REPRODUCTIVE CLONING (Scientific Advances)

Reproductive cloning (also called "organism cloning") is the implantation of a cloned embryo into a uterus, whether natural or artificial. The embryo then develops into a fetus that is then carried to full term. Dolly the Sheep was the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic (non-reproductive) cell, back in 1996, the result of some 435 attempts; she lived for six years, until euthanized due to a progressive lung disease unrelated to being cloned. Prior to Dolly, frogs and various kinds of fish had been cloned; since Dolly, a wide variety of mammals has been reproductively cloned, but no humans--so far, due to ethical concerns. (Therapeutic cloning--the creation of tissues for use in medical procedures--is being actively researched, but has not been put into practice.)

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)