MadSci Network: Genetics |
The basic strategy used for cloning animals is to take an egg cell and remove its nucleus (the sac that contains the DNA or chromosomes). Then you isolate a nucleus from a cell from the animal you wish to clone. This could be from an adult animal, but doesn't have to be. This nucleus is then injected into the egg cell lacking its own nucleus. Now the egg cell is ready to divide and grow into an embryo, but its genetic makeup is identical tot he adult from which the nucleus came from. There are lots of variants on this procedure, and the precise details differ from organism to organism, but the basic idea is similar. Here is a web site with some further information to check out if you are interested. http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~jones/tmp352/projects98/group1/how.html
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Genetics.