©2000 Timothy G. Standish Psalm 8:4-7 4What is man that thou art mindful of him:” and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5For thou hast made him a

©2000 Timothy G. Standish

Psalm 8:4-74 What is man that thou art mindful of him:” and the

son of man, that thou visitest him?5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,

and hast crowned him with glory and honour.6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works

of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;


Cloning For Cloning For Every ManEvery Man

Timothy G. Standish, Ph.D.


“The cloning of mammals . . . is biologically impossible.”

James McGrath and Davor SolterScience, Dec. 14, 1984


“Our announcement of Dolly’s birth in February 1997 attracted enormous press interest, perhaps because Dolly drew attention to the possibility of cloning humans. This is an outcome I hope never comes to pass.”

Ian WilmutScientific American, December, 1998


What This Talk Is AboutWhat This Talk Is About

Four Questions:Four Questions: What is cloning? How is cloning achieved? Why Clone? Why would anyone want to

clone an animal or human? Ethical Considerations? Why should cloning

technology be carefully thought through before being widely used and particularly before humans should be cloned?


System

The Code For LifeThe Code For Life

Organism

Organ

Tissues

Cell

.

Nucleus


Nucleus

The Code For LifeThe Code For Life

Chromosome

Genes

Brown eyes

Straight hair

Big nose


The Nucleus Contains An The Nucleus Contains An Organism’s BlueprintOrganism’s Blueprint

Every cell has a nucleus when it is made Within every nucleus is a complete copy of

the organism’s genetic information Differences between cells result from

different genes being “expressed” in different ways


ClonesClones Clones are two genetically identical organisms Nature commonly produces clones Most bacteria reproduce by “binary fission” in which

the mother cell splits in two with a complete copy of the genetic information being passed to each daughter cell

Many single-celled eukaryotic organisms reproduce in a similar way

In higher organisms, clones also occur naturally, but usually through some more complex mechanism


Plant ClonesPlant Clones

Any time that plants are reproduced using cuttings, to produce new separate plants, they are being cloned

Many commercially important strains of fruits are produced from clones

Seedless plants can only be reproduced as clones


Animal ClonesAnimal Clones

Budding is common in corals and some other animals Some vertebrates reproduce via parthenogenesis

Animal clones may result from “budding” as a way of reproducing


Natural Human ClonesNatural Human Clones

This happens naturally in about 3/1,000 births Identical twins are genetically identical because they have identical genes in their nucleus This does not mean they are truly identical

Identical twins result from the splitting of an embryo into two separate cell masses which both go on to develop into genetically identical twins


How Is Cloning Done?How Is Cloning Done?

Making a clone is, in theory, a very simple thing

All one has to do is take a cell with the nucleus of the organism you want to clone, and grow it into a new organism

The difficulty is that most cells do not readily grow into whole new organisms


Barriers To Cloning MammalsBarriers To Cloning Mammals Most cells seem to have a limit to how many times they will

divide (the Hayflick limit) A complex interplay between nucleus and cytoplasm exists

that prevents most cells from producing cells other than their own type

During development, cells differentiate into all the cell types in the body, but they do not readily go back to being undifferentiated

The egg and a few early cells in an embryo are the only cells capable of developing all the cell types necessary to make a whole mammal


Overcoming The Barriers Overcoming The Barriers

A nucleus needs the right cytoplasm environment if it is to become “totipotent”

Eggs provide the correct environment

The nucleus must be “reset” so that it forgets it was in a differentiated cell

Ian Wilmut learned that starving cells in culture resets their nucleus

Cells developing from mammal eggs do not seem to have a limit to the number of times they will divide


Making A CloneMaking A CloneThe method for making a clone used by Ian Wilmut

includes 6 steps:

1 Production of quiescent cells containing nuclei that “forget” the type of cell they are in

2 Collection of the donor nucleus

3 Preparation of an egg lacking genetic material

4 Insertion of the donor nucleus

5 Initiation of development

6 Development of the embryo in a surrogate mother


How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 1How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 1Making Quiescent CellsMaking Quiescent Cells

Finn Dorset ewe3.5 months pregnant

Mammary gland cells

Culture mammary cells

Harvest quiescent cells

Starve cells


Suction

Suction Pipette

Glass pipette

How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 2How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 2Collecting The Donor NucleusCollecting The Donor Nucleus


Suction

Suction Pipette

Glass pipette

How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 2How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 2Collecting The Donor NucleusCollecting The Donor Nucleus


How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 3How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 3Egg PreparationEgg Preparation

Scottish Blackfaced ewe egg donor

An egg is collected then placed into a dish where it can be manipulated

Egg


Suction

Suction Pipette

Glass pipette

EggChromosomes



Egg

Suction

Suction Pipette

Glass pipetteChromosomes



Suction

Suction Pipette

Glass pipette

How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 4How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 4Inserting The Donor NucleusInserting The Donor Nucleus


Suction

Suction Pipette

Glass pipette



Suction

Suction Pipette



How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 5How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 5Initiating DevelopmentInitiating Development


Zygote



Cleavage



Cleavage



Cleavage



Cleavage



Morula



Scottish Blackfaced ewe surrogate

mother

How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 6How Ian Wilmut Made Dolly 6DevelopmentDevelopment

Morula

Finn Dorset lambDolly


Why Clone?Why Clone?Cloning provides opportunities in four major areas

1 Study of developmentProduction of genetically identical organisms that can be studied

in different environments has the potential to dramatically advance our understanding of development

2 Propagation of valuable organisms

3 Control over reproduction

4 Production of recombinant organisms

5 Production of engineered organs


Propagation Of Valuable OrganismsPropagation Of Valuable Organisms

There are limits to the possibility of reproducing valuable combinations of traits using traditional breeding techniques

For example, race horses are regularly bred to produce fast offspring, but occasionally an excellent combination of traits is produced that cannot be repeated even when the same parents are used

Cloning could produce many copies of Pharlap or other valuable horses


Control Over ReproductionControl Over Reproduction

Production of a clone allows very precise predictions about the results of a pregnancy

Cloning offers the potential to produce genetically related offspring from sterile organisms

Before cloning, cells can be engineered to remove genetic defects, or introduce desired traits


Production OfProduction OfRecombinant OrganismsRecombinant Organisms

Cloned organisms can be made from cultured cells It is relatively easy to introduce new genes into cell

cultures Cells from recombinant cell cultures can be used as

nucleus donors for clone production This technique has already been used by researchers

at the Roslin Institute to produce recombinant sheep that make human factor IX

Factor IX is used to treat hemophilia B


Production Of Engineered OrgansProduction Of Engineered Organs

The potential exists to engineer organisms that produce organs which will not be rejected when introduced into humans or other needy recipients

To do this, animals would be produced that do not make the proteins and other chemicals on cell surfaces that tell the immune system they do not belong in a human body


Why Clone Humans?Why Clone Humans?

Production of genetically related offspring by infertile couples for whom other reproductive technologies have failed

Narcissism Replacement of lost loved ones Production of genetically “improved” humans

(custom-built babies) Production of spare parts for those needing

replacement organs


Ethical ConsiderationsEthical Considerations

All new technologies have unforeseen effects. We cannot expect that cloning will be without unexpected benefits and problems

Is any reproductive technology tampering with the way God made nature to work?

Are we “playing God” when we create organisms “designed” by humans?

Will there be abuses of the ability to produce engineered organisms . . . ?


Production of large numbers of clones would lower genetic diversity

Cloning technology makes other technologies more practical:

Production of cloned body parts requires the production of embryos that are then used as a source of stem cells

Ethical ConsiderationsEthical Considerations


The Ethics Of Human CloningThe Ethics Of Human Cloning Would cloning be in the best interest of the child?

– How would a child react to knowing how they will develop in the future?

– What expectations would society put on cloned children? Is it ethical to produce a life/potential life for the

purpose of saving or enhancing the life of a living person?

Is producing a clone as a source of stem cells, then discarding the remaining parts, equivalent to abortion?


Who Owns A Person’s Who Owns A Person’s Genetic Potential?Genetic Potential?

It would be immoral to take the gametes of a person and, without their consent, use them to produce offspring

Cloning offers the potential of making genetic copies of anyone -- With or without their consent


Cloning and ReligionCloning and Religion At least one religious group, Raeliens, believe

that cloning is the secret to immortality Raeliens believe that life on earth was created

by aliens using genetic engineering Clonaid, purported to be the first company

dedicated to human cloning, was founded in February 1997 by Rael, leader of the Raeliens, and a group of investors

Clonaid is run by a corporation in the Bahamas called Valiant Venture Ltd


Recent Developments In CloningRecent Developments In Cloning 1999 - A number of cloned cows and other organisms have died

without explanation. In general clones are less healthy than offspring produced using other methods (Lancet, U.S. News and World Report, May 24, 1999)

Dolly has chromosomes with telomeres shorter than those of other ewes her age. Dolly’s lambs have telomeres that are normal in length for sheep their age (Nature, May 27, 1999)

The first male has been cloned from adult cells, named Fibro by Yanagimachi’s group in Hawaii, cells from an adult mouse tail were used as the source of 274 nuclei, one of which developed to adulthood and fathered two normal litters (Nature Genetics, 22:127-128, June 1999)


Recent Developments In CloningRecent Developments In Cloning 1998 Nov. - Plans for cloning humans on a commercial basis are

announced (http://www.clonaid.com/) 1999 - Discovery of a frozen woolly mammoth in Siberia has presented

the possibility of cloning mammoths using a mammoth nucleus and elephant eggs (http://cnn.com/NATURE/9907/23/mammoth.reut/)

1999 - A group in New Zealand has approved the cloning of the extinct Hula bird using preserved materials (http://cnn.com/NATURE/9907/20/cloning.enn/)

1999 - Dolly is shown to have different mtDNA than the eue from whom she was cloned, but the same mtDNA as the mother who donated the egg (Eric Schon, Ian Wilmut et al. September 1999 Nature Genetics)


Cloning Humans Using Cow EggsCloning Humans Using Cow Eggs June 17, 1999 American Cell Technology (ACT) announce they

had made a human clone during November 1998 The clone was made by inserting a human nucleus from skin on

a man’s leg into an enucleated cow’s egg After developing for 14 days the clone was destroyed

(Researches said before 14 days it “was not human”) Clones of this type may be potential sources of stem cells and

perfect tissue matches for those needing transplants

According to the BBC, Lord Robert Winston, a British fertility expert, said the research was "totally ethical”– This information came from the BBC web page

news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_371000/371378.stmThe first documented human clone


“But if there was one sin above another which called for the destruction of the race by the flood, it was the base crime of amalgamation of man and beast which defaced the image of God, and caused confusion everywhere.”

Ellen G. WhiteSpiritual Gifts. Vol. 3, p 64


Recent Developments In CloningRecent Developments In Cloning 2000 - In August the British government releases a report

calling for approval of human cloning for research purposes with the objective of harvesting stem cells for therapeutic purposes.

2000 - August, two groups report cloning pigs. This technology may ultimately lead to successful xenotransplantation.

2001 - January, Noah, a gaur, the first successfully cloned endangered species, dies of dysentery two days after birth

2001 - The British House of Lords approves legislation taking effect January 31 that allows human cloning

2001 - Dr. Severino Antinori announces plans to clone a human within a year


Psalm 8:4-74 What is man that thou art mindful of him:” and the

son of man, that thou visitest him?5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,

and hast crowned him with glory and honour.6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works

of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;


“None of the suggested uses of cloning for making copies of existing people is ethically acceptable to my way of thinking.”

Ian WilmutScientific American, December, 1998


Not Genetics AloneNot Genetics AloneTo be a human person means more than

having a human genome, it means having a narrative identity of one's own. Likewise, membership in the human family involves a rich nexus of cultural links that cannot be reduced to taxonomy. On the question of human nature, we need a philosophical fresh start that cannot be provided by genomics alone.

Alex Mauron. 2001. ESSAYS ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Is the Genome the Secular Equivalent of the Soul? Science 291:831-832.


Documents

©2000 Timothy G. Standish Psalm 8:4-7 4What is man that thou art mindful of him:” and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5For thou hast made him a