Questacon > Teens > Science In Depth > Cloning

Science in Depth

Cloning

What is cloning?

Most of us have heard about cloning and have some idea about what it might be.

Cloning is seen in movies, books, on the TV and in newspapers, but what is it really?

Cloning is basically making a genetic copy of something. This might be copying just one cell, or it could be a whole animal. There's a bit more to cloning things than this explanation suggests, so you can get more information here.

A guy called Herbert Webber, from the US Department of Agriculture, invented the word clon in the early 20th century to describe plants that are genetically the same as their parent. Pretty soon clon became clone, and slowly the word became part of the English language.

The biggest star in the cloning world is a sheep named Dolly. Why she's called Dolly is an altogether different story. In 1996 Scottish scientists cloned Dolly from an adult sheep. This was the first time this had been done for a mammal. Dolly died in February 2003.

Now that cloning has been shown to be possible with mammals, people are getting really interested in cloning a special mammal - humans.

Not everyone agrees on whether cloning is ethically and scientifically right or wrong. Several governments around the world have made laws to stop public money being spent on human cloning research. We'll leave it to you to decide if you think it's good or bad.

If all else fails, you can always look at the lighter side of cloning.

This article has the following pages:

For more information on cloning you can take a look at

Australian Academy of Science - presents an overview of the cloning topic.
A high school student's page - looks at the views of cloning being right or wrong. Presents information on cloning at an understandable level.
Science Explained - takes a thorough look at the science in the creating of Dolly.
New Scientist - contains a collection of articles on issues to do with cloning. Also looks at some frequently asked questions.
Roslin Institute - provides information on cloning, transfer of a nucleus and ethics from the group who gave us Dolly.
Gene CRC - gives an Australian view on genes and cloning. Particularly good at showing how to decide whether something is ethically okay.
EdNA Online - this is the Education Network Australia, which provides links to sites that they have checked out on cloning.

Next>


	Questacon > Teens > Science In Depth > Cloning Science in Depth Cloning What is cloning? Most of us have heard about cloning and have some idea about what it might be. Cloning is seen in movies, books, on the TV and in newspapers, but what is it really? Cloning is basically making a genetic copy of something. This might be copying just one cell, or it could be a whole animal. There's a bit more to cloning things than this explanation suggests, so you can get more information here. A guy called Herbert Webber, from the US Department of Agriculture, invented the word clon in the early 20th century to describe plants that are genetically the same as their parent. Pretty soon clon became clone, and slowly the word became part of the English language. The biggest star in the cloning world is a sheep named Dolly. Why she's called Dolly is an altogether different story. In 1996 Scottish scientists cloned Dolly from an adult sheep. This was the first time this had been done for a mammal. Dolly died in February 2003. Now that cloning has been shown to be possible with mammals, people are getting really interested in cloning a special mammal - humans. Not everyone agrees on whether cloning is ethically and scientifically right or wrong. Several governments around the world have made laws to stop public money being spent on human cloning research. We'll leave it to you to decide if you think it's good or bad. If all else fails, you can always look at the lighter side of cloning. This article has the following pages: Dolly - the Wonder Sheep The Death of Dolly Cc - the Copy Cat Human Cloning Arguments in Favour of Cloning Arguments Against Cloning The Lighter Side of Cloning Movies, Books & Songs About Cloning For more information on cloning you can take a look at Australian Academy of Science - presents an overview of the cloning topic. A high school student's page - looks at the views of cloning being right or wrong. Presents information on cloning at an understandable level. Science Explained - takes a thorough look at the science in the creating of Dolly. New Scientist - contains a collection of articles on issues to do with cloning. Also looks at some frequently asked questions. Roslin Institute - provides information on cloning, transfer of a nucleus and ethics from the group who gave us Dolly. Gene CRC - gives an Australian view on genes and cloning. Particularly good at showing how to decide whether something is ethically okay. EdNA Online - this is the Education Network Australia, which provides links to sites that they have checked out on cloning. Next>
	Last modified 1 August, 2007 © Commonwealth of Australia 2008 About \| Contact Us \| Disclaimer \| Home \| Privacy Statement \| Search \| Site Map Send comments or feedback to the Questacon Webmaster.