INQ-251 | Cloning

Full Title: Cloning: The Science of Making Copies

Topic Description:

Cloning is the process of making genetically identical copies of organisms. Whether it occurs in naturally or is induced in the laboratory, cloning has been used as a valuable method for producing identical copies for agriculture and scientific applications. The concept of producing copies has been explored in literature and film evokes impressions that clones are inferior, unnatural and dangerous. But with the achievement of Dolly the sheep, the first cloned mammal, the possibility of cloning humans has moved from fiction to reality. In the course, we will explore the biological basis for cloning, starting with the fundamental principles of the cell and DNA. We will examine major achievements in developmental biology and stem cell research that resulted in the technology necessary to clone multi-cellular organisms like Dolly. We will conclude by discussing the biological, legal and ethical concerns regarding the possibility of human cloning.

Counts as Global? No

Topic Approved: December 2010