Cloning.....

[gunblaze]

there is one period where i heard scientist where intending to clone humans...right?

what i would like to noe is whether does cloning have any side-effects? would both clones be still of the same age? is there any danger in life when cloning?

About the side-effects....eg: would both clones have the same mindset... do the same things at the same time?

I would appreciate all replies...also, pls correct me if anything is wrong!

[Monique]

Hi Gunblaze, this post would actually belong in the Biology forum. To answer you question simply: clones are just like identical twins, separate people with separate minds.

The side-effect would be the technical difficulties that scientists are facing to perform the procedure safely. The cells can be damaged during the procedure and noone really knows whether the cells are reset correctly. There has been some debate about the biological age of the clone, but I think the clock is reset so the age would be too.

[hitssquad]

In case anyone is interested, I found a bunch of pictures of clones on the internet. I guess its up to the viewer to decide if these clones consider themselves individuals:

http://www.raingod.com/angus/Gallery/Photos/Asia/Laos/images/VangViengLandscape03.jpg
http://www.bensonsimport.com/wholesale/bananatrees/6561.jpg
http://www.askadavid.org/photos/photos54/banana_trees.jpg
http://www.oldkoloahouse.com/banana%20tree%202.jpg
http://www.princeton.edu/~jhalderm/pics/2000-08=bermuda/m/banana.jpg
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/coolplanet/kidsweb/banana/images/grow3.jpg

[nautica]

A major problem, besides the ones that Monique mentioned is age of the cloned cell.

If a newborn is cloned there is not a problem. But if a cell from a 50 year old person is cloned, then that cell is 50 years old. This could cause problems for the cloned person. Much like that of Dolly, who several months after birth experienced diseases related to old age, such as arthritus.

Nautica

[Monique]

But in Dolly it was not proven to be an aging effect of the clone right?

[nautica]

Not proven. But, it wouldn't stand to reason, that if you clone a cell that is 50 years old, you are starting with a 50 year old cell, which would be near its programed death. Right???

Nautica

[Monique]

That would be debatable.. is arthritis programmable in a cell? Does decreased telomere lenght cause arthritis? Are the telomeres really shorter in clones? Are the short telomeres thát short that after 3 months it develops arthritis?

I'm mentioning it, since I've never seen a report how much the telomeres are shortned in clones, or how much they vary from human to human for instance. Also, it might be that during the cloning process the telomeres are lengthened.

[iansmith]

Technically the telomere lenght migth not be a problem. Telomerase can be activated in vitro and a cell line can become immortal (i.e. cancerous). All you have to do is inactivated the telomerase before you transfert the nucleus.

The major I would be concern with would be DNA damage/mutation. Depending where you are taking the cell from this migth be an issue of major concern. As you cell divide, damage will acumulate and migth participates in the aging process.

The only thing we know about dolly is that she die prematurly. The rest is just speculation.

[nautica]

I agree it is speculation. But, after 1000's of replications, I just do not see how a cell could be as "perfect" as the original, nor after 10^6,s years of selection, do I see how any of these mutations could be anything but deleterious.

This is what you are cloning. The problem should be obvious, reguardless of the reduction in telomeres.

Maybe, when we figure out a cause and/or a cure for Progeria, we will come closer to being able to clone an older individual.

Either way, the point is mute at the present time.

Nautica

[Monique]

Ok, so accumulation of mutations in somatic cells would be the problem and also the genetic imprinting that is present in the genome.