Concept explainers
Scientists have cloned a number of animal species, including mice, dogs, cats, horses, and cows. Could the technology of cloning be used to bring back extinct species? In principle, yes, provided that perfectly preserved DNA of the extinct species is available. Such DNA could be transferred to an egg from a closely related, living species, and the egg implanted in a surrogate mother of that species.
For example, researchers have suggested that it might be possible to clone a woolly mammoth, using an elephant surrogate mother and DNA extracted from 20,000-year-old mammoths found frozen beneath the Siberian tundra.
Most scientists, however, believe that any DNA recovered from a fossil mammoth would be far too degraded for use in cloning, and synthesizing an entire mammoth genome (its sequence is now almost fully known) is beyond the capabilities of current technology. The odds of success might be greater for another proposed project, which would use DNA from a preserved museum specimen to revive the Tasmanian tiger, an Australian mammal that has been extinct for only 70 years. If cloning recently extinct species proves to be possible, do you think it would be a good idea?
If Extinct Species Can Be Revived by Cloning?
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Biology
- If you were offered the chance to have the genome of your newborn sequenced at a cost of 1,000, would you do so?arrow_forwardWe each carry 20,000 genes in our genome. Genes can be patented, and over 6,000 human genes have been patented. Do you think that companies or individuals should be able to patent human genes? Why or why not?arrow_forwardImproving the nutritional value of food has long been one of the goals in agricultural genetics. Crossing different strains of plants and animals followed by generations of artificial selection have yielded some successes, including the development of high-protein maize. The use of gene transfer biotechnology has led to other advances, including the creation of nutritionally enhanced rice to combat vitamin A deficiency and blindness. Researchers are now turning their attention to the nutritional enhancement of animals that are used as food. Scientists are now turning their attention to using gene transfer technology to nutritionally enhance animal foods. Recently, biotechnology was used to produce a sheep with increased amounts of an omega-3 essential fatty acid that plays an important role in the development of the nervous system and, in adults, reduces the risk of coronary artery disease. Once a small number of transgenic animals have been produced, they can be bred by conventional methods to establish a source of nutritionally enhanced meat and milk. The use of biotechnology is presenting consumers with many new choices, which will become more common in the future. Increasingly, we will all have to educate ourselves about the pros and cons of such decisions. On the other hand, how would you explain your preference for meat from animals without higher levels of beneficial fatty acids?arrow_forward
- Improving the nutritional value of food has long been one of the goals in agricultural genetics. Crossing different strains of plants and animals followed by generations of artificial selection have yielded some successes, including the development of high-protein maize. The use of gene transfer biotechnology has led to other advances, including the creation of nutritionally enhanced rice to combat vitamin A deficiency and blindness. Researchers are now turning their attention to the nutritional enhancement of animals that are used as food. Scientists are now turning their attention to using gene transfer technology to nutritionally enhance animal foods. Recently, biotechnology was used to produce a sheep with increased amounts of an omega-3 essential fatty acid that plays an important role in the development of the nervous system and, in adults, reduces the risk of coronary artery disease. Once a small number of transgenic animals have been produced, they can be bred by conventional methods to establish a source of nutritionally enhanced meat and milk. The use of biotechnology is presenting consumers with many new choices, which will become more common in the future. Increasingly, we will all have to educate ourselves about the pros and cons of such decisions. How would you explain your decision to eat nutritionally enhanced meat from animals modified by biotechnology?arrow_forwardWhy is genetic imprinting is a major obstacle to the successful cloning of animals?arrow_forwardHerbert Boyer and Stanley Cohen pioneered the technique of DNA cloning allowing genes to be transferred from another biological species easily. Their work also gave rise to the development of different recombinant proteins with therapeutic applications like insulin and growth hormone. The former was cloned using Escherichia coli. coli in 1978. With this breakthrough, the first licensed drug produced using recombinant DNAtechnology was human insulin, developed by Genentech, licensed and marketed by Eli Lilly in 1982. Scientists were able to identify and isolate the gene fragment or the gene of interest, in this case, the gene that is responsible for producing insulin. Moreover, they were able to isolate the bacterial DNA of E. coli. The plasmid and DNA fragment were cut using a restriction enzyme. This DNA fragment was inserted into the plasmid using a DNA ligase. When the DNA fragment was then placed into the bacterial DNA, it was then introduced to the host cell (E. coli) and was then…arrow_forward
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- Dolly is the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell Which of the following statement/s is/are most relevant to the birth of Dolly? I. It suggests that human could be cloned. II. It proves that specialized cells could be used to create an exact copy of the animal they came from. III. It improves the production of milk, meat, and other products from livestock. IV. It proves that animals could be cloned to have gene mutations that help scientists study diseases that develop in the animals. A. II only B. I and II C. III, and IV D. II, III, and IV Which of the following statements best explain the significance of mitosis and ? A. Both mitosis and meiosis produce diploid cells which responsible for the continuity of life. B. Many single-celled organisms rely on mitosis and meiosis as their primary means of asexual reproduction C. replication, cells have another interesting choice, whether they want to make an identical copy, or do they want to make four half-copies…arrow_forwardWhat would be your experimental strategy and the lab materials required to clone the complementary human gene using a mammalian gene in conjunction with PCR?arrow_forwardWhat are some possible research questions and practical applications that could be addressed by creating organisms with artificial chromosomes and synthetic genomes? What might be some potential safety, environmental, social, and ethical concerns about creating organisms with synthetic genomes?arrow_forward
- Human Heredity: Principles and Issues (MindTap Co...BiologyISBN:9781305251052Author:Michael CummingsPublisher:Cengage Learning