What events and advances have occurred in the field of human cloning and stem cell research? Has a human clone ever been attempted or created?
Human cloning and stem cell research are complicated areas of science where there is still much for scientists to uncover and understand. In 2004, South Korea announced the first ever human cloned embryo ("Human Cloning"). They were then able to successfully extract stem cells from these clones and prove to the scientific community a new way of gaining stems cells. This was a remarkable achievement that helped advance and spark new ideas in the human cloning field ("Human Cloning"). Since then, many countries have put out funding for further research into stem cells. For example, in 2007, Ontario and California put out thirty million dollars for stem cell research hoping to find treatments for cancer, Parkinson’s, and other diseases ("Stem Cells: FAQs"). Then in 2008, the governor of Massachusetts announced that over the next ten years, one billion dollars would be invested in biotechnology and stem cell research ("Stem Cells: FAQs"). Recently, scientists have uncovered a new molecule that plays a role in how stem cells are able to regenerate and divide for such long periods of time (Elaine Fuchs, et al). This may help the scientific community to have a better understanding of stem cells and their structure.
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Although animal cloning has been achieved, there has been no evidence that a human clone has been made successfully. Dolly the sheep, was the first animal to ever be cloned and this occurred in 1997 ("Human Cloning"). Since then, there have been attempts to clone humans. In 2009, scientist Panayiotis Zavos announced to the public that he created fourteen human cloned embryos. Eleven of those were put into surrogate mothers in hopes of creating the world’s first cloned baby (Schlesinger). However, none of them survived. As proof of the experiment, the entire process was filmed and made into a documentary (Schlesinger).
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