Biotechnology / Cloning

The Human Genome Project, an initiative of the U.S. DOE (Department of Energy), aims to generate a high-quality reference sequence for the entire human genome, identifying all the human genes.

U.S. Congress originally assigned the DOE to develop new technologies in order to gain a deeper understanding of potential environmental and health risks posed by it production and use. The Human Genome Initiative was announced in 1986, and the joint effort of the DOE and National Institute of Health officially developed a plan for the Human Genome Project in 1990.

Here’s a bit of trivia – originally the Human Genome Project was planned to last 15 years, but via rapid technological advances, the project was completed in 2003 making it a 13 year project. The findings of the Human Genome Project have already enabled scientists to pinpoint genes that are associated with more than thirty disorders.

The Human Genome Project was just the beginning at hinting at the possibilities of cloning which involves the removal of one cell’s nucleus and placing it in an unfertilized egg cell with a removed or deactivated nucleus. There are two kinds of cloning:

1. Reproductive Cloning – Following a few cellular divisions, the egg cell is placed into a uterus, where it’s developed into a fetus that is genetically identical to the original donor.

2. Therapeutic Cloning – The egg is developed into embryonic stem cells in a Petri dish.

Cloning had a major watershed moment in February 1997, which Ian Wilmut and his Roslin Institute colleagues announced the successful cloning of a sheep from the mammary glands of an adult female. This stirred a lot of controversy because of its ethical implications. With the successful cloning of a mammal, we suddenly seemed that much closer to cloning a human, shining a serious light on some of the associated ethical issues as well.

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