{"id":11921,"date":"2025-03-09T15:30:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-09T15:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/?p=11921"},"modified":"2025-04-22T19:23:49","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T18:23:49","slug":"cloning-simply-science-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/2025\/03\/09\/cloning-simply-science-fiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloning: Simply Science Fiction?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The idea that an individual could be identically replicated has captivated popular culture for decades. A clone is defined in biology as an organism or cell, produced asexually from one ancestor, to which they are genetically identical. Appearing in the likes of the Star Wars franchise, Oblivion, and more recently Mickey-17 released just this month, clones in science fiction films are often portrayed in a way that challenges this definition. When reproductive cloning and Dolly the sheep were introduced in Nick Evans&#8217; lecture on stem cells, I asked myself the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To what extent does cloning exist? <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why haven&#8217;t we cloned humans?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are the applications of cloning?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1363\" height=\"580\" data-id=\"11927\" src=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11927\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-7.png 1363w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-7-300x128.png 300w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-7-768x327.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1363px) 100vw, 1363px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Star Wars: Episode II &#8211; Attack of the Clones (2002)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2878\" height=\"1192\" data-id=\"11928\" src=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/Oblivion_Screenshot.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11928\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/Oblivion_Screenshot.png 2878w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/Oblivion_Screenshot-300x124.png 300w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/Oblivion_Screenshot-768x318.png 768w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/Oblivion_Screenshot-1536x636.png 1536w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/Oblivion_Screenshot-2048x848.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2878px) 100vw, 2878px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Oblivion (2013)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" data-id=\"11929\" src=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/mickey-17_screenshot.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11929\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/mickey-17_screenshot.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/mickey-17_screenshot-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/mickey-17_screenshot-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mickey 17 (2025)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:48px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Animal cloning &#8211; Dolly the sheep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>On the 5th of July, 1996, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell was born &#8211; Dolly the Finn-Dorset sheep. The scientific advancement captured the attention of the media at the time, and continues to do so today (see links on right). The procedure involved <em>somatic cell nuclear transfer<\/em>, which is a type of reproductive cloning. The diagram below summarises the method.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/centennial.societyforscience.org\/entry\/1997-science-news-reports-on-dolly-the-sheep\/\">1997: <em>Science News <\/em>report on Dolly the sheep<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:34px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-right is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-765c4724 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/av\/magazine-36706051\">2016:<em> BBC News<\/em> report on Dolly the sheep<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized wp-duotone-unset-2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" src=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11936\" style=\"width:810px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-8.png 1600w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-8-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-8-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/image-8-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image from <em>Encyclop\u00e6dia Britannica, Inc.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:41px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Dolly essentially had three mothers, with the DNA from the egg cell of a Scottish Blackface sheep being replaced by the DNA from a Finn-Dorset sheep. The resulting hybrid cells were placed in the uterus of another Scottish Blackface, and astonishingly, Dolly was born with identical genes to the nucleus donor sheep. In theory, the exact same procedure could be completed with humans. It should be noted that it took 227 attempts to produce one sheep clone. Even today, mammalian cloning is highly inefficient. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:29px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ethical Considerations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the birth of Dolly, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) immediately banned cloning. It goes without saying that cloning humans would raise innumerable ethical issues. Below are the most notable (click on the arrows for more information):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Eugenics<\/summary>\n<p>An early ethical consideration, following John Lederberg advocating for cloning in 1966. He saw it as an appropriate means to improve the human race &#8211; cloning certain individuals for their desirable traits. Many see this is a &#8216;new form of eugenics&#8217;, which is considered immoral by most, due to questions of equality and coercion.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:33px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Danger<\/summary>\n<p>Utilitarianism focuses on the direct outcome, raising the concern that cloning human beings by nuclear transfer is too dangerous. Too many embryos in animal cloning experiments expire or result in miscarriage. <\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:31px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Individuality<\/summary>\n<p>Many believe that cloning violates our dignity, uses people as means, affronts our uniqueness,\u00a0and threatens our humanity. <\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:39px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Embryonic research <\/summary>\n<p>To even research human cloning, a huge amount of human donated eggs would have to be acquired by scientists. The nature of the nuclear transfer method, with implantation would also require the research to surpass the 14-day limit of embryo experimentation, raising questions on identity and the value of human life.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:38px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Therapeutic Cloning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:auto 34%\"><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p>Therapeutic cloning is a practical method which in my opinion avoids the ethical issues raised above. It also involves nuclear transfer, but the cells are never implanted. Instead, the embryo is cloned to produce stem cells. Since these would be genetically identical to the donor, these stem cells are less likely to be rejected by the patient.<\/p>\n<\/div><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"624\" height=\"790\" src=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/gr-stem-cells-624.png\" alt=\"Image from Mitalipov Lab\/OHSU\" class=\"wp-image-11966 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/gr-stem-cells-624.png 624w, https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/529\/2025\/03\/gr-stem-cells-624-237x300.png 237w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 624px) 100vw, 624px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:47px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems to me that human cloning is inefficient, immoral, and mostly pointless. The replicas we see in science fiction don&#8217;t reflect biology, and with therapeutic cloning, there is no need to clone entire humans for treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p><em>&#8220;Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn&#8217;t stop to think if they should.&#8221;<\/em><\/p><cite>Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park (1993)<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The idea that an individual could be identically replicated has captivated popular culture for decades. A clone is defined in biology as an organism or cell, produced asexually from one ancestor, to which they are genetically identical. Appearing in the likes of the Star Wars franchise, Oblivion, and more recently Mickey-17 released just this month, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6854,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-practice-blogs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11921"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11970,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11921\/revisions\/11970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/uosm2031-2025\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}