Cloning

Cloning is the process of making copies of a specific piece of DNA, usually a gene. When geneticists speak of cloning, they may not mean the process of making genetically identical copies of an entire organism, but of making a copy of a small piece of DNA. To date, the highest species to be cloned are non-human primates. There are currently strict NIH regulations against the cloning of humans; few groups support the cloning of entire humans, though the cloning of select organisms in host animals (e.g. growing replacement human hearts in pigs) is a long term goal of the scientific community. Recently, proof-of-concept experiments growing cloned rat organs in mice and via versa have demonstrated the feasibility of one day growing cloned human organs in host animals.[1]

## Endangered species[edit]

Cloning is used to replicate endangered species and avoid extinction. As announced in February 2021, cloning successfully created the first American endangered species: a black-footed ferret. It was duplicated from the genes of a black-footed ferret which died more than 30 years earlier, and born on December 10, 2020.[2]

## References[edit]

1. ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20813264
2. ↑ https://apnews.com/article/1st-cloned-endagered-species-ferret-23cde3908e496692648dc28d4b8121ee