therapuetic cloning
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Therapeutic Cloning:
How it is done and its possible benefits.
Therapeutic cloning is sometimes referred to as "somatic cell nuclear transfer" or "SCNT". It involves removing the nucleus of an egg cell, replacing it with the material from the nucleus of a "somatic cell" and stimulating this cell to begin dividing. Sperm never fertilizes this egg cell, and the genetic material within the cell is virtually identical to the genetic material extracted from the skin or other cell. Once the cells begins dividing, stem cells can be extracted from it 5-6 days later, just as they can be extracted from embryos created through in vitro fertilization. These stem cells will be a genetic match to the patient. Therefore, the promise of SCNT is that the patient's body would accept these cells after transplantation. By using therapeutic cloning, scientists hope to understand how the protein factors in the egg cell cause these already specialized somatic cells to become stem cells. Once scientists learn how this cell unity occurs, they will no longer need to use egg cells. SCNT has nothing to do with sexual reproduction...