A Beginner's Guide To Cloning

Despite logistical and ethical hurdles, the ability to create genetic replicas could aid medical research and possibly save animals from extinction.

By Molly Glick
Nov 26, 2021 6:00 PM
dolly the sheep clone
A taxidermy of the sheep clone Dolly on display at the National Museum of Scotland. (Credit: Jordan Grinnell/Shutterstock)

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In 1996, one of the most famous instances of cloning occurred when Dolly was made from the udder cell of a 6-year-old sheep. But what exactly is cloning? It’s broadly defined as “the creation of an exact genetic replica of a small segment of DNA, a cell or a whole organism.” However, the resulting creature isn’t always a carbon copy of its source. The genetic outcome depends on the specific method employed. Scientists conduct three different types of cloning:

Gene Cloning 

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