Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing, or previously existing, human being or growing cloned tissue from that individual.

The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning; human clones in the form of identical twins are commonplace, with their cloning occurring during the natural process of reproduction.

Although genes are recognized as influencing behavior and cognition, "genetically identical" does not mean altogether identical; almost no one would deny that identical twins, despite being natural human clones with identical DNA, are separate people, with separate experiences and not altogether overlapping personalities.

However undramatic it may sound, the relationship between an "original" and a clone is rather like that between identical twins raised apart; they share all the same DNA, but little of the same environment..

For more information about the topic Human cloning, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Somatic cell — A somatic cell is generally taken to mean any cell forming the body of an organism. Somatic cells, by definition, are not germline cells. In mammals, ...  > read more

Cloning — Cloning is the process of creating an identical copy of an original organism or thing. A cloning in the biological sense, therefore, is a molecule, ...  > read more

Dolly the Sheep — Dolly (July 5, 1996 - February 14, 2003), a ewe, was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell. She was cloned at the ...  > read more

Somatic cell nuclear transfer — In genetics and developmental biology, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a laboratory technique for creating an ovum with a donor nucleus. It ...  > read more

Related Stories

Search ScienceDaily

Doggy Genes