Genetics and Cloning

Genetics and Cloning
Prior to Dolly, scientists thought if we clone liver cells, we get more liver cells. Liver cells were not going to generate muscle cells. But Dolly's birth showed otherwise ... that adult cells can be returned to their undifferentiated embryonic state and then into a complete new animal!

Dolly was the first mammal cloned from a cell from an adult animal. Specifically, Dolly was cloned from udder (mammary) cells of an adult six-year old sheep.

Here is my selection of web resources on "Genetics and Cloning". Most of them are animations.


WEB RESOURCES	DETAILS
What are clones? Source: Dolan DNA Learning Center	Watch an animation on the cloning of Dolly the sheep and Cumulina the mouse. Try cloning a dog using the same method to create Dolly – Source: Biotechnology Australia
Tour of the Basics Source: Genetic Science Learning Center, University of Utah	Are you a little confused by all the talk about DNA and genes? Try this animated tour presenting basic information and explanations of DNA, genes, chromosomes, inheritance and mitosis/meiosis.
Mix those genes Source: Canadian Museum of Nature	Do you have your mother's eyes or your father's? An interactive activity to help you understand dominant and recessive eye-color genes.
Central Dogma of Biochemistry Source: John Wiley & Sons Publishers, Inc.	An animation that explains the process of protein synthesis. Click on "View Animation" before proceeding to "Next"
Race the Cell Source: Canadian Museum of Nature	An interactive activity to help you understand how your cells make protein in your body. This is a good companion to the above "Central Dogma of Biochemistry".
DNA Workshop Activity Source: PBS Science Odyssey	The activity in this section places you within the cell, involving you with the processes of DNA replication and protein synthesis.
The Cloning Process Source: CNN	Learn how some clones were created including Dolly the sheep, Tetra the monkey and other animals
Click & Clone Source: Genetic Science Learning Center, The University of Utah	Learn about Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer by helping to create a genetically identical clone of a brown female mouse. This activity mirrors the steps from the 1998 cloning of mice at the University of Hawaii.
Clone Zone: Therapeutic or reproductive? Source: Canadian Museum of Nature	An interactive activity to help you understand the process of making a human clone or cloning organs and tissue. Cloning Poster from Biotechnology Australia
Cloning Quiz Source: Canadian Museum of Nature	How much do you know about cloning? Can you tell the facts from the fakes? Try this quiz on cloning.
Is It Cloning or Not? Source: Genetic Science Learning Center, The University of Utah	Test yourself with this interactive quiz to identify 7 scenarios as cloning or not. Explanations are included after the answers.
Cloning Myths Source: Genetic Science Learning Center, The University of Utah	Instant clones? Carbon Copies? A discussion of the major misconceptions about cloning.
What is a Stem Cell? Source: Genetic Science Learning Center, The University of Utah	An animation on stem cell basics.
What are stem cells? Source: Canadian Museum of Nature	Stem cells are cells that can develop into virtually any tissue in the human body. A brief explanation with a picture on "Where do stem cells come from?"
Stem Cell: The All-Purpose Cell Source: PBS Online NewsHour	An animation explaining how the University of Wisconsin cultured human stem cells. Read the ethical debate on the use of stem cells.
Cloning Source: John Wiley & Sons Publishers, Inc.	An animation that explains Recombinant DNA Technology The main sections will open up sub-sections at the bottom; click on each one of these and "play" the animation before proceeding to "Next".

Information compiled in February 2006 by "Parenting the Next Generation"