What is Cloning?
	By Aaron Nazarian When people hear the word cloning, usually what comes to mind is Dolly - the first successfully cloned mammal.(In the picture to the right, Dolly is the wee one on the left and her mom is on the right.) Cloning is defined here as the process used to generate an organismgenetically identical to an adult organism of the same species. This means creating a new, genetically identical copy of a plant or animal. Since Dolly was cloned three years ago, other animals have been cloned, including more sheep, mice, pigs, and even a cow and monkey.Today, it is actually not possible to clone a human being and it has not been attempted yet.Although, by the above definition, identical twins may be considered clones as well. This is actually true because identical twins also have identical DNA. So in a sense, twins are natural-made clones. °„How was Dolly cloned? Human cloning is a very touchy issue because of its deep moral and ethical consequences. There have been discussions on the topic and for now the US government has taken a stand on the issue. On March 4, 1997, President Clinton announced the prohibition of federal funding for cloning of human beings. In his remarks to the public, President Clinton asserted his wish to protect the American people from unethical and immoral abuses of this science. There are many ethical implications to cloning that have not yet been fully understood and debated. He stated, "Science often moves faster than our ability to understand its implications... we have a responsibility to move with caution, but also with a conscience...so that we can reap the benefit while minimizing the potential dange r...[therefore] I am issuing a directive that bans the use of any federal funds for any cloning of human beings." Likewise, he declares in a memorandum to White House heads of Executive departments and agencies that he "want[s] to make it absolutely clear that no Federal funds will be used for human cloning...[and] hereby direct[s] that no Federal funds shall be allocated for cloning of human beings." Recently, in mid-August 2000, a panel of scientists in England called for a limited form of human cloning in the UK only, and then only for research purposes. A final decision was left to Parliament, which is expected to allow it. The US government, however, took no such similar actions and kept to its March 1997 declaration. Create Your Own Clone Cloning Timeline Links: How was Dolly Cloned? www.pathfinder.com/TIME/cloning/cloning1.html Create Your Own Clone library.thinkquest.org/24355/data/interactions/createclone.html Cloning Timeline library.thinkquest.org/24355/data/interactions/detailsnav.html