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Thursday, February 28, 2002
he truth about cloning
By Anuj Trehan
THE BATTALION
On Saturday, Dec. 22, 2001,
arbon copy (cc) was bom. Not
being heic only does this add to a growing
i ' Bay may be list of cloned animals but recog-
■izes Texas A&M as the first to
t_*,” he said ! clone a companion animal,
.tred," Rum>:;f*’hese developments are becom-
Jy soon. ing hot topics in science, poli-
>rs have sot. tics and the media, leaving
empt future: many wondering what cloning
’hi on theu leally is.
c vk hereaboi;: w Cloning is a procedure used
create a new organism whose
genetic constitution is nearly
■te replica of another existing
it dividual. The organisms
involved have similar DNA but
lot necessarily similar expres
sions of that DNA, which
lieans the clone may not look
Bxactly like its donor.
I The principle of cloning for
111 organisms is the same no
matter how big or small the
Irganism may be. Each organ
ism develops from a single cell
liat divides to form different
A'pes of cells, w hich eventually
1* Jorm different parts of an
pm it or s anism -
Animal cloning is done by
L substituting the nucleus, which
k Montains the DNA from a cell in
Hn individual's body, as the
nucleus of a fertilized egg.
Thus, the nucleus of the egg will
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contain the same genetic materi
al as the donor. The egg/cell
“couplet” fuses and begins to
divide like an embryo.
But the clone and the organ
ism from which it was cloned
are not identical. The nuclei
will contain the same DNA, but
the mitochondria within the
cells also contain genetic mate
rial, which is still distinct to
each organism.
The egg starts to develop in a
controlled lab setting until it is
developing normally. It is then
transferred into the womb of a
surrogate mother who carries it
to term.
The success rate for the
proper development of the egg
is very small, usually no more
than 1 percent. Scientists do
not know why the success rate
is so small.
Dr. Mark Westhusin has been
working to clone dogs, cats and
horses with the Missyplicity
Project, an effort that began in
1999.
“We do not know why only
one of the embryos that were
transferred survived,” Westhusin
said. “This is common for all
species that have been cloned to
date. We know the process of
cloning animals is inefficient but
do not know why so many
embryos fail to develop. This
will require much more research
DONOR.
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ECC GROWS LIKE
NORMAL EMBRYO
FRANK CHANCE • THE BATTALION
The cloning process uses the DNA from the cell nucleus of the organism
to be cloned and an enucleated fertilized egg.
to try and figure this out.”
The newest A&M clone, cc,
is a tiger-tabby domestic short-
hair cat. Rainbow, her genetic
donor, is a calico domestic
shorthair. A detailed genetic
analysis showed that DNA from
the clone, the genetic donor and
the surrogate mother was found
to be the same, confirming cc as
a clone.
“It has taken the researchers
at Texas A&M over two years to
successfully reproduce the
copycat,” Westhusin said.
Cloning research is new and
scientists are hopeful of what
developments may arise.
“One of the main interests is
to produce transgenic animals
that have agriculturally or med
ically beneficial traits,” said Dr.
Marian Beremand, Texas A&M
genetics professor.
Some examples of these
potential benefits include the
development of disease resistant
animals or an animal that pro
duces compounds needed in
medicine such as insulin.
New AIDS vaccine
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I SEATTLE (AP) — A new vac
cine that is perhaps the most close
ly watched experiment in all of
AIDS research is showing promise
in early human testing, but
researchers caution they are still
years away from proving it works.
The approach, called prime-
>st, is highly effective in mon
eys. Until now, scientists were
. Unsure whether the same would be
tn te in people.
I Results released Tuesday at the
9th Annual Retrovirus Conference
in Seattle suggest the immune sys
tem response in people is identical
to that in newly vaccinated mon
keys, which are able to withstand
exposure to the virus.
I Experts believe a vaccine is the
only way to stop the worldwide
AIDS epidemic, which has already
killed 20 million people and infect
ed 40 million more. But the search
has been frustrating, because the
virus has evolved elaborate and
effective strategies to elude the
body’s usual defenses against
microbes.
Volunteers in the early-stage
testing of Merck & Co’s experi
mental vaccine have not been put
to the crucial challenge of expo
sure to HIV, and proving the vac
cine does its job will require test
ing on large numbers of people
who are at risk of catching it
through sex or drug abuse.
Nevertheless, researchers said
the new results are promising,
because they raise the possibility
that a vaccine can arm the body’s
immune defenses to fight off HIV
and prevent AIDS.
“We are encouraged,” said
Emini, head of Merck’s AIDS vac
cine program. “Obviously, the big
question is how effective this will
be in preventing or mitigating infec
tion. That will have to wait until we
get into long-term studies.”
Yearly treatment to
deter osteoporosis
AP — A single intravenous dose of medicine a year
rather than a pill a day may be enough to prevent
osteoporosis, the bone-thinning condition that leads to
fractures and hunched backs, especially in women
past menopause.
The startling finding came out of a study of a drug
called zoledronic acid, which is approved for use in
cancer patients to stop calcium from leaching from
the bones.
It will be about five years before doctors know
whether the drug really does prevent fractures, because
the study in Thursday’s New England Journal of
Medicine was only a one-year look at the medicine’s
effect on bone itself. The manufacturer, which paid for
the research, has already begun the much larger and
longer studies.
But doctors who treat osteoporosis — a disease that
weakens the bones of more than 10 million Americans
and threatens millions more — are excited by the pre
liminary results.
Dr. Felicia Cosman, clinical director of the National
Osteoporosis Foundation, said the thought of a once-a-
year treatment is mind-boggling.
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All On-Campus Residents
ALL current on-campus residents are
required to complete the Housing Decision
2002 process to renew or cancel their
housing for the fall 2002 - spring 2003
academic year.
WHEN: March 4 (8 a.m.) - March 8 (5 p.m.)
WHERE: On the Residence Life Homepage
(www.resUfe.tamu.edu)
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