Dolly the sheep was used for the study of cloning animals and whether if cloned animal would age prematurely. Scientists took a single adult cell, implanted into an egg cell where its own DNA was removed, and created an exact replica of its donor. Researchers explained that there were no abnormal deficiencies with the sheeps that were cloned but some appeared to show signs of osteoarthritis which Dolly was diagnosed with. Scientist declared that based on the new research cloning animals does not lead to the idea of premature aging.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/science/dolly-the-sheep-clones.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=19&pgtype=sectionfront
https://sites.psu.edu/maddieleap16/2016/07/27/dollys-fellow-clones-enjoying-the-golden-years/
The science behind cloning animals has always been very interesting to me. I would expect premature aging to be a consequence of cloning so it is interesting that Dolly's clones did not age prematurely. This is a big discover in the art of cloning because it proves that premature aging is not a concern for future cloning purposes.
ReplyDeleteAs our ability to manipulate gene sequences advances and is perfected at an astounding rate, it won't be long until we will not only be able to "clone" humans, but even correct our DNA errors to create even better versions of ourselves. For example, I'm sure if scientists were to clone new versions of Dolly now, they could code genes to reduce/eliminate the tendency to have osteoarthritis. Personally, I can't wait to make a super-human version of me!
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