Introduction to Cloning

UPDATE: Dolly the sheep was killed on 16th February as she had a lung disease. Read the full story here. What's next?

To be able to cure illnesses or make plants healthier, a scientist needs to clone a Gene, which involves making many copies of the gene. This is done in a laboratory, and the method is called cloning or recombinant DNA technology.

The small sheep in the photo is Dolly, the most famous sheep in the world. She is cloned from another adult sheep. Every genetic makeup in her cell is the same as a ewe of a different generation. Read more about Dolly the Sheep.

Cloning is done by putting a foreign piece of DNA with a special information into a usually circular DNA that acts as a carrier. This circular DNA is called a vector, which is a means of transport. The vector allows replication and transfer of the foreign DNA from one living organism to another.

This living organism is called a host, because its body acts as a temporary home for this DNA and its vector. The new circular DNA with the foreign piece is called a "clone" or a "recombinant vector" which is different from the parental vector (the original DNA before the new piece was inserted in it).

Scientists use many different types of vectors in different ways for cloning.