A new idea to make the same old thing: Cloning

Patrick F. Desmond

Imagine being invaded by millions upon millions of genetically engineered super soldiers, all of
which look exactly the same. They look the same because they have been perfected in every way to be
the optimal killing machines. Scary to think of such a situation outside of a science fiction novel, but
some think that this could become a reality if cloning research is allowed to proceed in the future. The
controversy behind cloning is very interesting, and both sides of the argument are reasonable.
However, whether someone is for or against cloning, the science behind it is fascinating, and has great
potential to be used to benefit mankind. Just a few benefits cloning could provide are curing diseases,
creating organs, saving animal species, and increasing food supplies. So what is cloning?

Cloning is something that has been taking place for nearly as long as the natural word has
existed. Since a clone is nothing more than an offspring which is genetically identical to the parent,
many things are technically considered clones. A self pollinated plant, an asexually reproducing
bacterium, or even an earthworm that was cut in half, will all result in “cloned” organisms. This,
however, is much different from purposefully creating a clone in the laboratory.

It was only about sixty years ago that the thought of cloning organisms in the lab was nothing
more than science fiction. However when the German
scientist, Hans Spemann, successfully performed the first
somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) in 1924, a tool was
created to make this thought a reality. In 1952 the first
successful cloning experiment was documented at the
Institute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia, PA. This facility
is located in Northeast Philadelphia, and is now part of the
Fox Chase Cancer Center. The experiments performed by
Robert Briggs and Thomas King paved the way for an
intriguing new field of study. The potential of cloning in the
future is almost limitless.
The Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA

Generally speaking, cloning is a biological

process which yields individuals that are
genetically identical to the parent. Performing this
in a laboratory was a novel idea which employed
Spemann’s technique developed nearly 30 years
prior. The experiments performed by Briggs and
King utilized SCNT to clone a frog embryo
successfully in 1952. Simply stated, the goal of
SCNT in cloning is to first remove the nucleus from
an egg cell, and then to replace it with the nucleus from another cell in order to see if a normal embryo
develops. The nucleus of a cell contains DNA, which contains the genetic coding that makes each living
thing what it is. This experiment utilized a blastula cell for the donor nucleus, and a frog’s egg cell as the
recipient. SCNT is a complicated process for which Briggs and King had to create their own instruments
by hand. The following paragraph helps to describe the procedure with as little “excruciating detail” as
possible.

The process first involves removal of the nucleus from the egg cell. This is achieved by first
pricking the egg with a needle, which causes the egg to orient itself in a way that allows a syringe to
enter the egg cell and extract the nucleus. The next step is to inject the enucleated egg cell with the
nucleus from a blastula cell. This is
a complicated procedure which
involves using a syringe to first
draw up a single blastula cell.
Pressure in the syringe causes the
cell wall to rupture, but at the same
time keep the intracellular contents
intact. Next, the syringe can then
be expelled into the enucleated egg
cell, and because the cell wall had
been broken, the blastula nucleus
moves into its new home.

The difficulty of the procedure lies in making sure that neither the recipient cell nor the donor
nucleus gets damaged anytime during the transplant. These concerns were the main reason Briggs and
King chose to use an undifferentiated blastula nucleus for transplantation. Blastula cells are those
present in the early stages of embryonic development. This stage is observed once the fertilized egg cell
has begun dividing, and has reached a size of approximately 128 cells. Before Briggs and King attempted
to clone a completely different cell type, they thought it would be smart to first clone a cell for which
the donor and recipient were equivalent. By using a blastula cell, the end result, assuming no damage
had occurred, would be the formation of a normal frog embryo. From there
they could use nuclei of various cell types in order to see if they could clone
any variety of cells.

After Briggs and King conducted this “fantastical experiment” it

opened the doors for other scientists to follow in their footsteps. As
experiments took place with nuclei from cells further along in development, it
was realized that the clones were less likely to survive. The observation that
adult cells were unable to produce viable offspring was most prevalent in
species such as insects, fish, and amphibians. Surprisingly, it was found that
adult mammalian cells were more successful in creating clones than these
other animal species. For example Ian Wilmut et al were the first team of
Dolly the Sheep scientists to successfully perform SCNT to produce a healthy cloned mammal
using a mammary cell for the donor nucleus. This famous experiment, which produced the well known
Dolly the sheep, led to an explosion of cloned mammals over the last 20 years. Species such as mice,
horses, cattle, and pigs, albeit at low percentages, have all been cloned.

The future of cloning presents many challenges to overcome, but the rewards could benefit
human kind in a countless number of ways. One of the potential applications cloning could provide is
the ability to clone human organs. This could be done using stem cells to create the desired organ, or
even by creating pigs genetically modified to have organs fit for human transplant. Stem cells are those
which have not matured into a specific cell type yet, for example a liver cell. They are potentially
capable of being manipulated to become whatever cell type the experimenter desires. A few other
medical applications of cloning include synthesis of vaccines, and production of cells to replace those
destroyed by degenerative diseases. As mentioned earlier, cloning also could provide a method to
increase food supplies, and help save, or even bring back, certain animal species.

While cloning has much potential for good, many people are concerned for ethical reasons. The
success rates observed for cloning is often under 5%, which raises issues with attempting to clone
humans. Furthermore, if this became possible, commercialization of human embryos would lead to
extreme controversy. These reasons are just part of the quandary behind cloning research, and it would
be interesting to find out the stance Briggs and King would take on the subject after all these years. It is
truly amazing to think how those two pioneers have changed the course of history just 58 years ago in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Bible said “To him that knows to do good and does not, to him it is sin,”
but, the author of that quote did not likely see this dilemma arising in the future.

References

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 DiBerardino, M, and R.G. McKinnell. "The Pathway to Animal Cloning and Beyond-- Robert Briggs
(1911-1983) and Thomas J. King (1921-2000)." Journal of Experimental Zoology. 301A. (2004):
275-279. Print.

 Briggs, R., and T.J. King. "Transplantation of Living Nuclei from Blastula Cells into Enucleated
Frogs' Eggs." Zoology. 38. (1952): 455-463. Print.

 "Nuclear Transfer." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 16 Feb. 2010
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 Wilmut, I. "Viable offspring derived from fetal and adult mammalian cells." Nature. 4 (1997):
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 DiBerardino, Marie. "Rober W. Briggs." National Academies Press 1983: 1-2. Web. 24 Mar 2010.
<"Hans Spemann." Physiology and Medicine 1965: 1922-1941. Web. 24 Mar 2010. . >.

 "Cloning Fact Sheet." Human Genome Project Information 11 May 209: n. page. Web. 24 Mar
2010. <http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml>.

 Caplan, Art. "Cloning Ethics: Separating the Science from the Fiction." MSNBC 14 Dec 2003: n.
pag. Web. 28 Mar 2010. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3076920/ns/health-
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 de Magalhaes, J.P. "Cloning: Hopes and Fears of Human Cloning and Stem Cells." JP de
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 "History of Cloning." ThinkQuest.org, n.d. Web. 30 Mar 2010.

<http://library.thinkquest.org/20830/Frameless/Manipulating/Experimentation/Cloning/longdo
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