Clone (noun or verb, “CLONE”)
The word clone has a couple of different, but related, meanings. A clone may be a genetic copy of an individual. That is, an organism that has the exact same DNA as another. Clone can also refer to copies of other biological entities, such as DNA or other molecules. Clone can also refer to the act of making such copies.
Identical twins are natural clones. They share the same DNA. In the lab, scientists might clone animals, plants, microbes and more. Many fields of science — from conservation to genetics — use this technology.
To clone an animal, scientists usually start with an egg cell. Scientists remove that cell’s DNA. Then, they insert DNA from the animal they want to copy.
Scientists can trigger that egg cell to develop into a new animal a couple of ways. They might mimic the chemistry of fertilization. That’s how egg cells naturally develop into full animals. Gentle electrical jolts can also jumpstart an egg’s development.
Once the egg develops into an embryo, scientists move it into the womb of a surrogate mother. That mother later gives birth to the cloned animal.
Perhaps the most famous clone was Dolly the sheep. Born in 1996, she was the first animal cloned from an adult mammal cell.
Scientists have used this tech to help endangered species. In 2021, one team cloned a long-dead black-footed ferret. This clone introduced much-needed genetic diversity into endangered ferret populations. Diverse genetics help a species to adapt to environmental changes, boosting its odds of survival.
In the 1993 sci-fi thriller Jurassic Park, scientists used preserved DNA to clone extinct dinosaurs. This idea will probably remain science fiction. Scientists believe it’s probably not possible for DNA have been preserved for the 66 million years since dinos went extinct. Even so, real scientists hope to use cloning tech to bring back more recently extinct species. Dire wolves or mammoths, for instance.
Cloning isn’t just for animals. In medicine, researchers may clone a person’s tissues. They start with that person’s own stem cells. These are cells that have the potential to become several different types of tissue. The new tissue can help heal injuries.
Environmental scientists, meanwhile, may clone microbes to do special jobs. For instance, the microbes may break down oil to help clean up spills.
Scientists can even clone a molecule, such as DNA. This allows them to select certain genes and put them into another organism. For example, scientists may clone human genes for making insulin. Then they may put those genes into microbes, such as yeast. This creates microbes that churn out human insulin, which can be used to make life-saving medicines for people with diabetes.
In a sentence
To introduce genetic diversity to endangered black-footed ferret populations, scientists cloned an individual that died decades ago.
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