Biotechnology has many fields of research, however, two main areas of research are reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning (ARHP, n.d). These two methods apply very similar techniques of replicating cells, however, differ in their purposes and debates.

The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (n.d) describes reproductive cloning as a process to create “a fully formed living child”. Reproductive cloning is accomplished by inserting a clone embryo into a woman’s womb where it will grow and progress through development normally. The ARHP distinguishes therapeutic cloning from reproductive cloning based on this difference. Therapeutic cloning uses the clone embryo as the source of stem cells. In therapeutic cloning the embryo is not implanted in a womb, but is nurtured and grown in a petri dish. The largest use of therapeutic technology is stem cell research. The ARHP (n.d) advocates that stem cells “allow the creation of tissues or organs” that can be transplanted to a recipient in need (ARHP, n.d). The distinct advantage of stem cell therapy is that the clone organ can be transplanted to a patient “without having these tissues or organs rejected by their body's immune system” (ARHP, n.d).

The following sections will describe the current techniques of creating these clone embryos. It is important however to distinguish between therapeutic and reproductive cloning.

Natural Splitting Cells The base building block of life is the single cell. Inside a single cell is an array of subsystems, operating in unison with each other, performing specific tasks vital to the cell (Coppel & Nossal , 2002). Although each subsystem is essential to the cell, the nucleus is the most important of them all. The nucleus is the control center of the cell where it sends instructions to each contributing system. The nucleus also has the ability to reproduce itself by a process called mitosis (Coppel & Nossal , 2002). During mitosis a single cell splits into two cells having identical genetics. The ability of cells to reproduce replica cells created the vision for scientists worldwide of the possibility of manufacturing clones in laboratories.

http://www.news.wisc.edu/packages/stemcells/labphotos.html

In 1902 Hans Spemann successfully split two cells from a salamander in half creating two separate cells. Each cell grew into adult salamanders. This was the first research of its kind to suggest that two separate organisms could be created, each having the identical genetic information (About, n.d). Spemann’s research disproved previous theories that each cell division decreased the amount of genetic information per cell. In fact each cells programming has enough genetic information to initiate the creation of higher order life forms (Coppel & Nossal , 2002). The capacity of each individual cell to multiply and build larger forms of life unravelled the true complexity of our living existence.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer Technique

This process involves the transferring of a nucleus from a somatic cell to an egg cell. A soamtic cell is defined as any cell that exists in a body excluding germs. Somatic cells could be a blood cell or a cell from any organ (About, n.d). The somatic cells nucleus is transferred to an egg that has had it’s nucleus removed. The implanted egg cell is then nurtured and allowed to multiply until it develops into an embryo. The embryo is then inserted into a surrogate mothers uterous where it continues to grow.

www.news.wisc.edu/packages/stemcells/

Advancement in cell research led to the development of nuclear transfer between cells to create clone embryos. Biologist John Gurdon, using the nuclear transfer technique, successfully cloned South African frogs (About, n.d). Interestingly the transferred nucleus came from an intestine cell of an adult frog. Gurdon proved that each cell’s nucleus contains the blueprint to create the larger form of life even after specialization; these master architectural blueprints exist as DNA molecules inside the nucleus (Coppel & Nossal , 2002).

The Roslin Technique The Roslin technique is a modification of the somatic cell nuclear transfer method. This method allows somatic cells to multiply and grow. The cells are then deprived of all nutrients, forcing them into a dormant stage (About, n.d). An enucleated (removed nucleus) egg is then brought in contact with the somatic cells where it attaches to a cell. The egg is then grown into an embryo that can be implanted into an uterus.

The Honolulu Technique The Honolulu technique uses the transferring of a somatic cells nucleus into a nucleus free egg cell. Chemicals are then used to promote growth of the egg into an embryo. The resulting embryo will then be transplanted into a surrogate mother’s uterus.

Application of Technology