Therapeutic cloning

• Chromosomes carry genetic information in a molecule called DNA.
• A type of cell division called mitosis ensures that when a cell divides each new cell produced has the same genetic information.
• Part of Biology (Single Science) Cell biology
• Cell biology is the study of cells.
• Cultured stem cells could be contaminated with viruses which would be transferred to a patient.
• Embryos could come to be viewed as a commodity, and not as an embryo that could develop into a person.
• Mutations have been observed in stem cells cultured for a number of generations, and some mutated stem cells have been observed to behave like cancer cells.
• Much of the research is being carried out by commercial clinics, so reported successes are not subject to peer review.
• Patients could be exploited by paying for expensive treatments and being given false hope of a cure as stem cell therapies are only in their developmental stages.
• For therapeutic cloning, it is controversial to create embryos for therapy, and destroy them in the process.
• The source of embryonic stem cells is unused embryos produced by in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
• The benefits of stem cell use should outweigh the objections.
• Embryonic stem cells can be obtained and stored before birth, with some clinics offering to store blood from the umbilical cord when a person is born.
• Educating the public about what stem cells can, and can't do, is important.
• Therapeutic cloning involves using cloning technology for medicinal purposes, such as using a person's DNA to clone one of their organs for use in transplanting.
• The use of stem cells for therapy or research will depend on the type of stem cells and the clinical, ethical, and social issues involved.
• The plural of nucleus is nuclei.
• Human stem cells have been produced in therapeutic cloning, and used in research, but there is no evidence that they have been used to treat anyone.
• Chromosomes are structures found in the nucleus of most cells.
• The technique of therapeutic cloning involves the transfer of the nucleus from a cell of the patient, to an egg cell.
• Stem cells produced in therapeutic cloning could be transferred to the patient.
• The nucleus controls what happens inside the cell.
• These issues will be different for the growth and transplant of adult, embryonic and therapeutically-cloned stem cells.
• It is important to obtain a balanced view on the use of stem cells.
• The current difficulty in finding suitable stem cell donors is an issue related to the use of stem cells.
• There are clinical, ethical, and social issues with the use of stem cells in medicine.
• Fewer complications would arise if the stem cells came from a close member of the family.
• There is no guarantee how successful these therapies will be, for example the use of stem cells in replacing nerve cells lost in Parkinson’s disease patients.
• Therapeutic cloning could produce stem cells with the same genetic make-up as the patient.
• Alternatively, donor cells could come from a person with closely-matched tissue types.
• Stem cells have great potential, in treating patients with currently untreatable conditions, growing organs for transplants, and research.
• The female reproductive cell, or egg cell, is a type of stem cell.