• Question: How do you make a clone(I'm asking for a friend)?

    Asked by anon-177607 to Urslaan, Nicola, Helen, Daniel, Becky, Andrew on 15 Jun 2018.
    • Photo: Daniel Marsh

      Daniel Marsh answered on 15 Jun 2018:

      To make a clone you would need to make an identical copy of the DNA which is the unique instruction code that we all have and that also makes us all slightly different

    • Photo: Andrew Singer

      Andrew Singer answered on 16 Jun 2018:

      The short answer, for your friend, is to recover a cell from an organism, expose it to chemicals that make the cell able to turn into all other cell types, such as a stem cell. Add more chemicals to make it grow. Implant it in the appropriate species uterus. It will hopefully grow into a clone of the original organism.

      You can probably tell I don’t do this for a living. But people do! Here’s a story where someone had their dog cloned: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12133278/First-British-couple-to-clone-dead-pet-dog-pick-up-puppies-from-South-Korea.html

    • Photo: Helen Littler

      Helen Littler answered on 17 Jun 2018:

      I am worried why your friend wants to know!? What are they planning…

    • Photo: Urslaan Chohan

      Urslaan Chohan answered on 18 Jun 2018:

      Hello “friend” of Leonie! To make a clone is quite straightforward in theory. Every living being is made from a unique set of DNA, which are built a certain way by a type of cell called stem cells. Stem cells are cells which haven’t changed to have a certain function yet (called specialised cells). These cells can change into specialised cells though (a process called differentiation). If we can isolate these stem cells, in theory we can create a clone of anything! The difficult part is getting these stem cells, they aren’t easily found in the body and there are many types of stem cells too! Getting the right type is essential.

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