Biology | Can Human Beings Be Cloned?
Can human beings be cloned?
In theory, yes. The successful cloning of a sheep by Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut in early 1997 has made the possibility of cloning a human seem more likely than ever before. However, there are still technical obstacles to human cloning, as well as a number of moral, ethical, philosophical, religious, and economic considerations.
A clone is a group of cells derived from an original cell by fission (one cell dividing into two cells) or by mitosis (cell nucleus division with each chromosome splitting into two). Cloning perpetuates an existing organism's genetic makeup. The clone of a human would be a genetically identical copy of a person. For example, if an adult woman were to have herself cloned, she would not end up with a daughter, but with an infant that is her own identical twin.
For centuries, gardeners have been taking plant cuttings to make genetically identical copies, or...
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