Week 7 assignment

Week 7 assignment General rules that must be followed:- 1- Remember to number the answers to each question. 2- Be kin" rel="nofollow">ind to my eyeballs. You do NOT have to write pages and pages and pages. Be CONCISE. However, there is sometimes a fin" rel="nofollow">ine lin" rel="nofollow">ine between bein" rel="nofollow">ing concise, and bein" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">incomplete. So, go directly to the poin" rel="nofollow">int of the question – go DIRECTLY. Your answers will always be evaluated on quality, rather than quantity, of in" rel="nofollow">information. 3- Please do not in" rel="nofollow">include the questions themselves in" rel="nofollow">in your submission. Either delete the questions, or create a separate document. 4- For some question, there is no right or wrong answers. You should thin" rel="nofollow">ink critically and answer with a good logic or science. =================================================================================== 1. The process of Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer certain" rel="nofollow">inly lacks the transfer of mitochondrial DNA. Suppose there was a way to also transfer mtDNA. Is it your opin" rel="nofollow">inion that SCNT and the “classic” view of clonin" rel="nofollow">ing would now be exactly the same? Support your opin" rel="nofollow">inion with good science. For example, if your answer is “yes”, then give scientific reasons why SCNT and clonin" rel="nofollow">ing are exact synonyms. If no, then why not. 2. Southern blot and PCR are used widely for nuclear DNA analysis. a. Which part (or parts) of the entire Southern blot protocol need(s) to be modified to analyze mitochondrial DNA? b. Which part (or parts) of the entire classic PCR protocol need(s) to be modified to analyze mitochondrial DNA? 3. Lookin" rel="nofollow">ing at all aspects of mitochondrial diseases, are they more like (1) sin" rel="nofollow">ingle gene nuclear disorders, (2) polygenic nuclear disorders, or (3) multifactorial nuclear diseases? Choose one of the three given options, and defend your choice. Be sure to in" rel="nofollow">include a reference to homoplasmy/heteroplasmy as part of your support. 4. The course materials present the stance of the FDA on clonin" rel="nofollow">ing. It was last updated in" rel="nofollow">in 2009, and has not been updated sin" rel="nofollow">ince. This was written 12 years after (then) President Clin" rel="nofollow">inton issued his statement on clonin" rel="nofollow">ing. Does the 2009 FDA policy support Clin" rel="nofollow">inton’s statement, or does it run counter? Cite at least two examples to support your opin" rel="nofollow">inion. 5. Examin" rel="nofollow">ine the NRTLC’s remarks about President Obama. Aside from the politics, do you thin" rel="nofollow">ink they are SCIENTIFICALLY correct in" rel="nofollow">in their criticism? Of course, defend your stance. 6. Questions 1 – 5 above count for 3 out of the 5 poin" rel="nofollow">ints this week. The other 2 poin" rel="nofollow">ints come from your reaction to the discussion board question. You will be evaluated both on your postin" rel="nofollow">ing, and how you in" rel="nofollow">interact with at least one other student. - The discussion board question is: Three clonin" rel="nofollow">ing categories are presented by ViaGen. Which one of these do you thin" rel="nofollow">ink has had, or will have, the most success in" rel="nofollow">in clonin" rel="nofollow">ing the category of organism cited in" rel="nofollow">in that area? Always support your choice with good science. (Section 1) Try your hand at clonin" rel="nofollow">ing Introduction: aka - food for thought. A baby with three biological parents? OK - I can predict what just popped in" rel="nofollow">into your head. No, not that way! So, if "that" didn't happen, then how can it? We'll see......... Have you seen the (old) movie called "Multiplicity"? If you haven't seen it, don't bother to Google, Bin" rel="nofollow">ing, or Chrome it. I do refer to it in" rel="nofollow">in one of this week's sections. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If a topic in" rel="nofollow">involves elements of science, politics, controversy, back-bitin" rel="nofollow">ing, etc., I always like to start off with the basics. Clonin" rel="nofollow">ing certain" rel="nofollow">inly fits that profile. Notice that I have NOT started with a defin" rel="nofollow">inition of clonin" rel="nofollow">ing. You will see why later. You have all heard of the landmark achievement of the Scottish scientist, Ian Wilmut. In 1997, at the Roslin" rel="nofollow">in Institute in" rel="nofollow">in Edin" rel="nofollow">inburgh, Wilmut and his colleagues successfully "cloned" a Fin" rel="nofollow">inn Dorset sheep named Dolly, the first time ever a complex organism was "cloned". Why, you ask, does our in" rel="nofollow">instructor in" rel="nofollow">insist on puttin" rel="nofollow">ing the term ”cloned” in" rel="nofollow">in quotes? Are you gettin" rel="nofollow">ing the idea that I am not too sure that this is clonin" rel="nofollow">ing? Well, you are right – I defin" rel="nofollow">initely have a problem with the use of the term. I take the old-fashioned view. Clonin" rel="nofollow">ing to me is this: I take one cell from one of my kneecaps, add some coconut oil, a little sugar, some cilantro, and a touch of umami. After many generations of cell division, and appropriate differentiation, several copies of me will be runnin" rel="nofollow">ing around. Does this match your defin" rel="nofollow">inition? For now, let’s keep the question rhetorical. What today’s science calls "clonin" rel="nofollow">ing" is actually Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (known by the acronym "SCNT"). That is why I have a problem with it. To be sure, SCNT is a very elegant scientific technique, but is it clonin" rel="nofollow">ing? I don't thin" rel="nofollow">ink so. BUT, that is only one man's opin" rel="nofollow">inion. Yup, that is the defin" rel="nofollow">inition of clonin" rel="nofollow">ing that has, is now, and will probably remain" rel="nofollow">in, gospel in" rel="nofollow">in all of science. Let me ask you this: do you thin" rel="nofollow">ink the world would have sat up and taken notice if the newspaper headlin" rel="nofollow">ines proclaimed "Sheep produced by SCNT"? BUT, the headlin" rel="nofollow">ines proclaimed "Sheep CLONED". It may sound corny, but everyone was all "ears". Here is a very hypothetical picture of how this technique might work in" rel="nofollow">in a human: In the followin" rel="nofollow">ing lin" rel="nofollow">ink, you will try your hand at clonin" rel="nofollow">ing a mouse, as well as to review the mechanics of modern day clonin" rel="nofollow">ing. Be sure your mouse traps are baited, in" rel="nofollow">in case somethin" rel="nofollow">ing goes wrong. What am I talkin" rel="nofollow">ing about? If you have been to EPCOT, and seen the exhibit on "Honey, I shrunk the audience", you will know. If not, then don't give it another thought! SCNT, copy “Mimi”, and clonin" rel="nofollow">ing quiz ( http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/clonin" rel="nofollow">ing/clickandclone/ ) After that, you can go on to the next section, where we will do some ancient history, and concentrate on the specifics of how Dolly was cloned. (Section 2) Hello, Dolly!!! Hello, Dolly!!! BEHOLD: As we have said, 19 years ago, the news media were trumpetin" rel="nofollow">ing a scientific breakthrough that was supposed to be the equivalent of the in" rel="nofollow">invention of the wheel, the discovery of the DNA double helix, the landin" rel="nofollow">ing of the first man on the moon, the development of the Salk vaccin" rel="nofollow">ine, and the Red Sox win" rel="nofollow">innin" rel="nofollow">ing the World Series in" rel="nofollow">in 2013. The one with the sheepish grin" rel="nofollow">in below is an actual picture of Dolly: Below is a summary of the clonin" rel="nofollow">ing process in" rel="nofollow">in a sin" rel="nofollow">ingle graphic Please be sure you completely understand today’s defin" rel="nofollow">inition of clonin" rel="nofollow">ing before goin" rel="nofollow">ing on to the next section. You don't have to agree with the defin" rel="nofollow">inition (I don't!), but you need to grasp it, because that is how it is defin" rel="nofollow">ined in" rel="nofollow">in today's science. (Section 3) Nuclear transfer technology in" rel="nofollow">in clonin" rel="nofollow">ing complex organisms Nuclear transfer technology in" rel="nofollow">in clonin" rel="nofollow">ing complex organisms For most of the last two decades, you have probably heard that many sophisticated organisms have been “cloned”. Mice, rats, cattle, salamanders, cats, dogs, etc., have all been successfully cloned. Advanced Cell Technology of Cambridge, Massachusetts, said they had grown embryos with the in" rel="nofollow">intent of harvestin" rel="nofollow">ing their stem cells. Of course, when this latter announcement hit the media, the outcries that you heard came from all walks of life, from the average citizen to former President Bush. They again" rel="nofollow">in made it clear that that their goal was not to create a human bein" rel="nofollow">ing!!! Their claim was that they were goin" rel="nofollow">ing to use the undifferentiated embryonic cells to repair and replace damaged human tissues, as if this is any less controversial. However, we have already visited this area in" rel="nofollow">in the previous week. To get back on course, one of the questions asked in" rel="nofollow">in my in" rel="nofollow">introduction is this: is the technique really and truly clonin" rel="nofollow">ing? There was a movie many years ago called "Multiplicity". You might have seen it? If you didn't, it starred Michael Keaton, who actually got himself cloned a number of times. Cells were taken from parts of his body, treated with a chemical mixture (sorry, I don't know what was in" rel="nofollow">in it) and many copies of Mr. Keaton were in" rel="nofollow">instantly created. Problem was, that each time a new copy was made, the person's "quality of existence" deteriorated. The last (sixth, I thin" rel="nofollow">ink) copy of him was a gnome-like android with an IQ somewhat approachin" rel="nofollow">ing that of wilted spin" rel="nofollow">inach. It is almost like makin" rel="nofollow">ing xerox copies of xerox copies of xerox copies -- the quality deteriorates. The poin" rel="nofollow">int is, though, the movie's concept of clonin" rel="nofollow">ing was more like the defin" rel="nofollow">inition that I like! --- take some cells, feed them some magic goop, and grow out a whole new person. Obviously, this was not the procedure used in" rel="nofollow">in any of the clonin" rel="nofollow">ing that has occurred, so let us examin" rel="nofollow">ine that in" rel="nofollow">in a little more detail 1. A mammary cell was taken from a white-faced donor sheep (the one to be cloned). Instead of usin" rel="nofollow">ing the entire cell, the nucleus of this mammary cell was removed. 2. An egg cell was taken from the recipient black-faced sheep, and enucleated. The mammary nucleus from the donor sheep replaced it. 3. The recipient egg cytoplasm/donor cell nucleus "hybrid" was then stimulated with a mild electric shock to in" rel="nofollow">initiate mitosis. It was then placed in" rel="nofollow">in the uterus of the recipient sheep. 4. Gestation was normal, and a sheep was born with a white face. This in" rel="nofollow">indicated that, in" rel="nofollow">indeed, the genetic in" rel="nofollow">instructions came from the donor sheep. The baby sheep was named Dolly because the genetic in" rel="nofollow">instructions came from a mammary cell -- that's the truth!!!! One thin" rel="nofollow">ing that you didn't hear when Wilmut and his group made their announcement was how many failures occurred before success was achieved. This is somethin" rel="nofollow">ing you never hear when you read any scientific publication. In fact, there were about 270 failures before Dolly was born. Why is this significant? Obviously, scientific achievements require good science, but you have to be extremely lucky (or fraudulent) to get the fin" rel="nofollow">inal goal with the first try. So, there are always failures – it is in" rel="nofollow">inevitable. With an advancement of this sort, the number of failures I quoted is not unusual. So, if we try this with human bein" rel="nofollow">ings, what do we do with THOSE failures? Throw them away? Keep this question rhetorical, but thin" rel="nofollow">ink about it anyway . . . . . Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, is this clonin" rel="nofollow">ing or isn't it? "Multiplicity" was obviously science fiction, but the concept of clonin" rel="nofollow">ing elucidated in" rel="nofollow">in the movie was closer to the classic biological concept than the technique used by Wilmut and his colleagues! And the ones bein" rel="nofollow">ing used today. The biggest problem in" rel="nofollow">in the classic biological sense in" rel="nofollow">involves another part of the cell that was never in" rel="nofollow">included in" rel="nofollow">in the clonin" rel="nofollow">ing process -- the cytoplasmic components, especially cytoplasmic DNA located in" rel="nofollow">in the mitochondria. Yes, when we all learned about cell division way back when, no one paid much attention to the cytoplasm. Watchin" rel="nofollow">ing the chromosomes dance, especially durin" rel="nofollow">ing anaphase, was dynamic and excitin" rel="nofollow">ing. Cytokin" rel="nofollow">inesis was as excitin" rel="nofollow">ing as watchin" rel="nofollow">ing pain" rel="nofollow">int dry. Over the last few decades, we have learned much about another very significant DNA complement -- mitochondrial DNA. RIGHT. The “cloned” organism lacked the very significant mtDNA - and we know today HOW significant the mtDNA contribution is. So, the “cloned” organisms, even today, do not receive the entire DNA component from the donor. Wait a min" rel="nofollow">inute! Why is this topic bein" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">introduced in" rel="nofollow">in this week’s module? What does mtDNA have to do with “clonin" rel="nofollow">ing”? As you go through the next section, the answers to these questions will become quite clear. (Section 4) Mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA So, why ARE we in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing mitochondrial DNA in" rel="nofollow">in the same neighborhood as clonin" rel="nofollow">ing? Before we answer that question, let's do a little reviewin" rel="nofollow">ing. You know that the mitochondrion is the "powerhouse" of the cell -- its “batteries”, if you want. Recall that this cytoplasmic organelle is a double-walled structure. The in" rel="nofollow">inner wall in" rel="nofollow">invagin" rel="nofollow">inates formin" rel="nofollow">ing fin" rel="nofollow">inger-like projections on the in" rel="nofollow">inside of the organelle -- these projections are called cristae. The cristae impart an enormous amount of in" rel="nofollow">inner surface area to the mitochondrion, where all of the complex, energy-generatin" rel="nofollow">ing pathways, like glycolysis, Krebs cycle, pentose phosphate pathway, etc., take place. The followin" rel="nofollow">ing diagram shows a detailed view of a typical mitochondrion: The double wall is clear from the cutaway view above -- the cristae are shown. DNA molecules are scattered throughout those cristae. Notice that the DNA molecules in" rel="nofollow">in the sketch are shown as tin" rel="nofollow">iny “circles”. Yes, that is accurate! There are some extremely complicated thin" rel="nofollow">ings that occur in" rel="nofollow">in mitochondria. The most commonly studied one is the energy generated from the metabolism of glucose – glycolysis, followed by the Krebs cycle, followed by the complicated electron transport pathway. Usin" rel="nofollow">ing percentage as a guide, and not the raw numbers, mutations occur much more frequently in" rel="nofollow">in mitochondrial DNA than they do in" rel="nofollow">in nuclear genes. Remember: I am talkin" rel="nofollow">ing percentage-wise. Not surprisin" rel="nofollow">ingly, errors in" rel="nofollow">in mitochondrial DNA result in" rel="nofollow">in diseases that occur as a result of imbalances in" rel="nofollow">in energy dynamics. This brin" rel="nofollow">ings forth a very significant concept: this DNA, when mutated, can cause some very serious diseases. In fact, the list of such disorders is ever-in" rel="nofollow">increasin" rel="nofollow">ing. But, there are some very significant differences between nuclear DNA, and mitochondrial DNA. We have previously summarized those in" rel="nofollow">in a very general way. Here is a reiteration, and more detailed summary, of those differences: The followin" rel="nofollow">ing is a sketch – yes, it is just a sketch – of mitochondrial DNA: It is actually two concentric circles of DNA, consistin" rel="nofollow">ing of a total of 16568 base pairs (bp). Don’t be concerned about what all the symbols represent, unless you feel like learnin" rel="nofollow">ing every detail about the electron transport chain" rel="nofollow">in. Notice also that the transfer RNA component of translation is made by mtDNA, and not nuclear DNA. Actually, so is the RNA component of the ribosomes. This table shows a comparison of mtDNA and nuclear DNA: Mitochondrial DNA Nuclear DNA 1. There are 3 - 10 mtDNA molecules per mitochondrion. There could be thousands of mtDNA molecules per cell, dependin" rel="nofollow">ing on the cell. 1. Nuclear DNA is in" rel="nofollow">in the form of a double helix. Laid end-to-end, the total length of DNA in" rel="nofollow">in one cell nucleus is over 2 meters long. 2. mtDNA represents 0.5% of the total cellular DNA. 2. Nuclear DNA represents 99.5% of the total cellular DNA. 3. One mtDNA molecule consists of 16568 base pairs. 3. Nuclear DNA consists of approximately 3 billion base pairs. 4. MtDNA is a double-stranded circular molecule: - The in" rel="nofollow">inner (light) strand is cytosin" rel="nofollow">ine-rich. - The outer (heavy) strand is guanin" rel="nofollow">ine-rich. - Histones are NOT present. 4. Nuclear DNA is arranged in" rel="nofollow">in the chromosomes in" rel="nofollow">in a typical "strin" rel="nofollow">ing of beads" fashion. Each "bead"is called a nucleosome, consistin" rel="nofollow">ing of a histone octomer combin" rel="nofollow">ined with DNA. Each nucleosome is connected by "lin" rel="nofollow">inker DNA". 5. MtDNA does not contain" rel="nofollow">in in" rel="nofollow">introns. 5. Well over 95% of nuclear DNA does NOT code for protein" rel="nofollow">ins. This type of DNA produces in" rel="nofollow">introns in" rel="nofollow">in pre-mRNA (the primary transcript). 6. MtDNA transcription occurs clockwise on the in" rel="nofollow">inner (light) strand, and counterclockwise on the outer (heavy) strand. <!--[endif]--> 6. Nuclear DNA transcription consists of sense DNA codin" rel="nofollow">ing for a pre-mRNA complementary molecule called the primary transcript. You already know that in" rel="nofollow">introns are spliced out of the primary transcript, and the exons get together to form mRNA. 7. Replication starts at specific poin" rel="nofollow">ints in" rel="nofollow">in mtDNA and proceeds in" rel="nofollow">in one direction. 7. Nuclear DNA replicates by unwin" rel="nofollow">indin" rel="nofollow">ing at scattered poin" rel="nofollow">ints creatin" rel="nofollow">ing "replication forks". Small pieces, called Okazaki fragments, are then spliced together. 8. MtDNA has min" rel="nofollow">inimum repair capability. 8. There are a multitude of repair mechanisms for nuclear DNA. These are constantly occurrin" rel="nofollow">ing. 9. There is no crossin" rel="nofollow">ing over in" rel="nofollow">in mtDNA. 9. Crossin" rel="nofollow">ing over in" rel="nofollow">in nuclear DNA occurs durin" rel="nofollow">ing prophase I of meiosis. 10. MtDNA has a very high mutation rate, due to its "proximity" to the chemical reactions affectin" rel="nofollow">ing oxidative phosphorylation. 10. The mutations in" rel="nofollow">in nuclear DNA have many causes, and the rate varies accordin" rel="nofollow">ing to environmental and/or other genetic conditions. It is clear that mtDNA is a very unique molecule, isn't it? After the Krebs cycle, the electron transport chain" rel="nofollow">in takes place, generatin" rel="nofollow">ing water, and makin" rel="nofollow">ing sure free radicals (which are constantly searchin" rel="nofollow">ing for electrons) don't form. Transcription of mtDNA produces almost all of the enzymes needed to catalyze the reactions in" rel="nofollow">in oxidative phosphorylation, especially in" rel="nofollow">in electron transport followin" rel="nofollow">ing the Krebs cycle. MtDNA also transcribes some of the protein" rel="nofollow">in that makes up the ribosomes. Bottom lin" rel="nofollow">ine is this: if you are truly clonin" rel="nofollow">ing cells to make a copy of an organism, you must in" rel="nofollow">include ALL (EVERY BIT) of its DNA. SCNT (somatic cell NUCLEAR transfer), discussed in" rel="nofollow">in previous sections, does not do this. If you don't in" rel="nofollow">include mtDNA, you are not clonin" rel="nofollow">ing the entire genetic complement of of the organism. Whew -- fin" rel="nofollow">inally, the connection between mtDNA and clonin" rel="nofollow">ing is made. Yes, it took me a while. There is another very significant aspect of mtDNA to consider, but we have already looked at this, so this will be review. So, let us do that, and talk about diseases that occur from mtDNA mutations. Remember how the zygote is formed? The sperm fertilizes the egg. How much cytoplasm does the sperm have? Yes, the sperm does have mitochondria, but they are located in" rel="nofollow">in the tail, which is lost upon fertilization. So, all the cytoplasm, and therefore all of the mitochondria, come from Mom's egg cells. So, if Mom has a genetic disorder due to a mtDNA mutation, she passes it to ALL of her children -- in" rel="nofollow">invariably (make sense?). If Dad has the same disorder (which, of course, he got from his mother) he will not pass it on to any of his children, sin" rel="nofollow">ince there is no mitochondrial contribution by the sperm cells!!! So, if you are lookin" rel="nofollow">ing at a family history, and you see every child of an affected mother with that disease, AND, none of the children of an affected father with the same disease, you know this is a problem with mtDNA, and not nuclear (sorry about the run-on sentence). There are, however, varyin" rel="nofollow">ing degrees of a mtDNA disorder, just as there are with every other disease. The severity of the disease depends upon the way mitochondria segregate in" rel="nofollow">in the cytoplasm when the cell divides (more attention to cytokin" rel="nofollow">inesis here!). Keep in" rel="nofollow">in min" rel="nofollow">ind that when mtDNA mutates, the mutation may not take place in" rel="nofollow">in every mitochondrion. And, it may not take place in" rel="nofollow">in every mtDNA molecule within" rel="nofollow">in the same mitochondrion. In fact, in" rel="nofollow">in people with mtDNA diseases, every cell has a mixture of normal and mutated mtDNA. So, there are two possible scenarios here: Homoplasmic in" rel="nofollow">inheritance means all (or most) of one kin" rel="nofollow">ind of mitochondrion is passed on to the next generation (either the mutated or the normal). In this case, the child will either be severely diseased or completely normal. The followin" rel="nofollow">ing is a sketch of homoplasmic transfer: Heteroplasmic in" rel="nofollow">inheritance means that there are some of each type of mitochondrion passed on. Obviously, the severity of the disease depends upon the heteroplasmic mix the child receives. Observe the followin" rel="nofollow">ing photo of “heteroplasmy”: So, what about curin" rel="nofollow">ing mitochondrial disorders? Here is where some very sophisticated molecular therapy comes in" rel="nofollow">into play. That's right -- molecular therapy. Suppose a Mom has mutated mtDNA -- it is clear that all of her children will get it. A technique called In Vitro Ovum Nuclear Transplant, or IVONT, can take care of this. Remember, that Mom's cytoplasm is carryin" rel="nofollow">ing the diseased entity. IVONT in" rel="nofollow">involves takin" rel="nofollow">ing her egg cell nucleus, and transferrin" rel="nofollow">ing it via exisitin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in vitro technology in" rel="nofollow">into another egg cell that has been enucleated. So, her nucleus in" rel="nofollow">in a disease-free cytoplasm means that the children will get her nuclear characteristics, but the normal mitochondrial characteristics. Observe the followin" rel="nofollow">ing photo: Compare and contrast now!!! Isn't this nuclear transfer technology the exact same thin" rel="nofollow">ing that biologists are now callin" rel="nofollow">ing clonin" rel="nofollow">ing? When Dolly was cloned, and when every other organism today is bein" rel="nofollow">ing cloned, enucleated egg cells receive a nucleus from another cell. So, "clonin" rel="nofollow">ing" technology can be adapted to cure mitochondrial diseases! As Mr. Spock on the old Star Trek series used to say: “Fascin" rel="nofollow">inatin" rel="nofollow">ing!!!” Late-breakin" rel="nofollow">ing news Over the last few years, some very successful attempts have been made to cure mitochondrial disorders in" rel="nofollow">in a very unique way. Sin" rel="nofollow">ince the Mom will pass it on to all of her children, the defect is in" rel="nofollow">in the cytoplasm. So, if eggs are fertilized in" rel="nofollow">in vitro, "healthy" mitochondria can, and have, been transplanted in" rel="nofollow">into those eggs, and the correct gene product is made, thereby elimin" rel="nofollow">inatin" rel="nofollow">ing the potential for the disease in" rel="nofollow">in the children. This raises a very in" rel="nofollow">interestin" rel="nofollow">ing poin" rel="nofollow">int: is the mitochondrial donor a third BIOLOGICAL parent? Certain" rel="nofollow">inly, there is contribution to the child's genotype. In the last week or so, the news media have been trumpetin" rel="nofollow">ing the attempts of a British laboratory to duplicate mitochondrial transfer. Sin" rel="nofollow">ince the in" rel="nofollow">in vitro technology is in" rel="nofollow">in place, But the question arises - is the mitochondrial donor also a biological parent? Certain" rel="nofollow">inly, the origin" rel="nofollow">inal sperm and egg donor are biological parents. But, sin" rel="nofollow">ince the mtDNA from the mitochondrial donor is also contributin" rel="nofollow">ing to the biological makeup of the soon-to-be person, is that person also a parent? WOW! Now we have to redefin" rel="nofollow">ine what we mean by "parent"? Anyway, the followin" rel="nofollow">ing article explain" rel="nofollow">ins the technology; be sure it is quiet around you when you read this - it is fascin" rel="nofollow">inatin" rel="nofollow">ing. Click on: Can we have a child with three biological parents? ( http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mitochondria-britain" rel="nofollow">in-idUSBRE95Q1J020130628) OK - what do you thin" rel="nofollow">ink? Here are some questions to ponder: (1) The two "origin" rel="nofollow">inal" biological parents (sperm and egg donor) obviously have to be male and female. However, the gender of the mtDNA donor can be either male or female. (2) Does the mtDNA donor have a right to see the child on a periodic basis? (3) Suppose the "origin" rel="nofollow">inal" biological parents get divorced. Does the mtDNA also have a right to custody? HOW's THAT for an in" rel="nofollow">interestin" rel="nofollow">ing scenario? This is one the discussion board, where I would like you to post your opin" rel="nofollow">inion. (Section 5) Government, Right To Life, and UN stance on human clonin" rel="nofollow">ing Government, Right To Life, and UN stance on human clonin" rel="nofollow">ing In 2001, the Weldon-Stupak bill, which was endorsed by both Congress and President Bush, was the first official legislation that completely outlawed human clonin" rel="nofollow">ing. It also outlin" rel="nofollow">ined the specific penalties to be imposed in" rel="nofollow">in the case that human clonin" rel="nofollow">ing is attempted. Twelve years ago, on February 28, 2003, the US House of Representatives voted, by an overwhelmin" rel="nofollow">ing margin" rel="nofollow">in, to outlaw all forms of human clonin" rel="nofollow">ing. The legislation, which passed 241-155, is called the "Human Clonin" rel="nofollow">ing Prohibition Act of 2003." It strictly prohibits the production of cloned human embryos for medical research as well as the creation of cloned babies. In 2005, the United Nations tossed their hat in" rel="nofollow">in the rin" rel="nofollow">ing. They came out with their “official” policy on clonin" rel="nofollow">ing. This one is rather short, and also outlin" rel="nofollow">ines the “pro” nations and the “con” nations. Now, 11 years later, there have been no updates/revisions to these policies. So, click on the followin" rel="nofollow">ing lin" rel="nofollow">ink: United Nations stance on human clonin" rel="nofollow">ing ( http://www.un.org/press/en/2005/ga10333.doc.htm ) As a follow-up to his revival of stem cell research, President Obama in" rel="nofollow">introduced a bill dealin" rel="nofollow">ing with how clonin" rel="nofollow">ing should be handled. The NRTLC objected to this, and wrote an article about what they thought about this. The article is below. Click on this lin" rel="nofollow">ink: The NRTLC viewpoin" rel="nofollow">int on Obama's bill ( http://www.lifenews.com/2009/10/12/bio-2981/ ) ============================================================= And now let us return to the present Clickin" rel="nofollow">ing on the followin" rel="nofollow">ing lin" rel="nofollow">ink will present the general stance on clonin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in the United States. The general US policy on the legality of clonin" rel="nofollow">ing ( https://www.ipscell.com/2013/05/human-clonin" rel="nofollow">ing-generally-legal-in" rel="nofollow">in-the-us/ ) (Section 6) Which companies are engaged in" rel="nofollow">in clonin" rel="nofollow">ing? First, the work described below was done by a company called Advanced Cell Technologies. At the time they did their work, they were located in" rel="nofollow">in Worcester, Massachusetts. Later, the company "reorganized", and became Ocata Therapeutics. The headquarters was moved to Marlborough, Massachusetts. In February of this year, a company called Astellas Pharma, Inc. acquired them (OM - Astellas bought them out). The new name is Astellas-Ocata. For over three decades, ACT/Ocata was attemptin" rel="nofollow">ing to cure human disorders usin" rel="nofollow">ing combin" rel="nofollow">inations of stem cell technology (discussed in" rel="nofollow">in week 6), and clonin" rel="nofollow">ing technology, main" rel="nofollow">inly by tryin" rel="nofollow">ing to reprogram differentiated cells in" rel="nofollow">into totipotent cells. They called their in" rel="nofollow">initiative autologous regenerative medicin" rel="nofollow">ine. As Ocata Therapeutics, they wsere, and still are, focusin" rel="nofollow">ing on tryin" rel="nofollow">ing to fin" rel="nofollow">ind a cure for Stargardt's macular degeneration, and dry macular degeneration. Before we go in" rel="nofollow">into what they are doin" rel="nofollow">ing now, let's look at the history, sin" rel="nofollow">ince this provided the foundation for a lot of today's protocols in" rel="nofollow">in both stem cell research and clonin" rel="nofollow">ing technology. The first animal cloned by ACT is called a gaur, whom they named "Noah" (pictured below). The gaur is a large wild ox species, which is generally brown or black with a humplike ridge on its back and with white or grey stockin" rel="nofollow">ings on all four legs (OK, they are not called "stockin" rel="nofollow">ings", but that's what I call them). The cells from which Noah was created origin" rel="nofollow">inated from a male gaur that died of natural causes at 5 years of age. At autopsy, skin" rel="nofollow">in cells were frozen and stored for eight years in" rel="nofollow">in the San Diego Frozen Zoo's Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species (CRES). Eight years later, Ocata thawed the cells, and performed the first successful cross-species clonin" rel="nofollow">ing, by removin" rel="nofollow">ing the nucleus of a cow egg, and implantin" rel="nofollow">ing the nuclei of the thawed gaur cells. Forty embryos resulted from their ongoin" rel="nofollow">ing work, but only one survived, which eventually became Noah. The birth of Noah, in" rel="nofollow">in late 2001, is the first successful birth of a cloned animal that is a member of an endangered species. Here is a photo of Noah: Unfortunately, while healthy at birth, Noah died within" rel="nofollow">in 48 hours of a common dysentery. This was likely unrelated to clonin" rel="nofollow">ing (or that is what they told the world). Noah was actually nurtured by a surrogate mother from another, more common, species, in" rel="nofollow">in this case a domestic cow. The poin" rel="nofollow">int is, one species was brought to term by another species. Hence, cross-species clonin" rel="nofollow">ing actually worked! "The data collected clearly in" rel="nofollow">indicate that cross-species clonin" rel="nofollow">ing worked and, as a scientist, I am pleased," explain" rel="nofollow">ined Philip Damiani, Ph.D. "As a person, however, I am saddened that an animal died. In the short period of time Noah was with us, he showed himself to be a vigorous and friendly calf." As it turns out, Noah died from clostridial enteritis, a bacterial in" rel="nofollow">infection that is almost universally fatal in" rel="nofollow">in newborn animals. His surrogate Mom, Bessie the cow, did fin" rel="nofollow">ine -- until she died about six years ago. Autologous regenerative medicin" rel="nofollow">ine One of the biggest problems with usin" rel="nofollow">ing even human embryonic stem cells is to overcome the very critical problem of histocompatibility. Even Human ES cells obtain" rel="nofollow">ined from embryos derived durin" rel="nofollow">ing in" rel="nofollow">in vitro fertilization, are very often "treated" as cells from another in" rel="nofollow">individual (allogeneic). This means that they, or any cells made from them, would be at risk of bein" rel="nofollow">ing rejected if transplanted in" rel="nofollow">into a human bein" rel="nofollow">ing. To solve this problem, ACT developed three means to manufacture embryonic cells identical to a human adult, this is to say, autologous embryonic cells. These are still standard protocols today. We have already looked at some of these, but let's review them, because they are germain" rel="nofollow">ine here: 1. Clonin" rel="nofollow">ing by reprogrammin" rel="nofollow">ing. This in" rel="nofollow">involves the utilization of the clonin" rel="nofollow">ing by nuclear transfer technique already discussed in" rel="nofollow">in this section. The idea is to combin" rel="nofollow">ine an egg cell that has its DNA removed, with the nucleus of a cell obtain" rel="nofollow">ined by in" rel="nofollow">in vitro fertilization. The hope is that the body cell's DNA becomes reprogrammed back to an embryonic state, and totipotent stem cells are produced identical to the patient. Any chance of rejection is therefore obviated. 2. Parthenogenesis. In this technique a woman's oocyte is directly activated (usin" rel="nofollow">ing electric shock, chemical stimulation, or mechanical manipulation) to produce spontaneous doublin" rel="nofollow">ing of the chromosome number. So, the extamt DNA in" rel="nofollow">initiates development on its own, formin" rel="nofollow">ing a preimplantation embryo from which totipotent stem cells may be isolated. 3. Ooplasmic Transfer. This one is really neat! It is the reverse of nuclear transfer. It in" rel="nofollow">involves the removal of the cytoplasm of an oocyte and transferrin" rel="nofollow">ing it in" rel="nofollow">into the body cell of a patient thereby transformin" rel="nofollow">ing the patient's cell in" rel="nofollow">into a primitive stem cell. Of course, all of the hue and cry associated with BOTH stem cell research AND human clonin" rel="nofollow">ing were bein" rel="nofollow">ing funneled to ACT, and the work they were doin" rel="nofollow">ing. Members of the general public and government officials right up to the head guy in" rel="nofollow">in the oval office, came out again" rel="nofollow">inst both protocols. But you can't argue with the science when it works . . . . A little over six years ago, they successfully cloned a monkey, and have stated this might lead to the technology that would work for humans. PLEASE take the time to click on this lin" rel="nofollow">ink and read this article – you will fin" rel="nofollow">ind it both fascin" rel="nofollow">inatin" rel="nofollow">ing and thought-provokin" rel="nofollow">ing. It is also kin" rel="nofollow">ind of long, but you don’t care about that, do you? Enjoy! ACT scientist helps to clone a monkey ( http://www.latimes.com/health/la-na-stemcell111507-story.html ) OK - so let's fast forward to the present, and see what is goin" rel="nofollow">ing on at Ocata. Click on the followin" rel="nofollow">ing web lin" rel="nofollow">ink. When the page opens, roll down to "View our current Ocata corporate presentation". Click on "download the .pdf". It will open as a .pdf, but it is really more of a glorified powerpoin" rel="nofollow">int. This will tell you, in" rel="nofollow">in detail, the groundbreakin" rel="nofollow">ing work Ocata is tryin" rel="nofollow">ing to accomplish. Can you utilize clonin" rel="nofollow">ing services today? You absolutely can. Let's suppose you lost your favorite pet. Can some cells that you retrieve from your pet be cloned in" rel="nofollow">into the same animal? There are a number of companies both national and in" rel="nofollow">international that are in" rel="nofollow">in the busin" rel="nofollow">iness of doin" rel="nofollow">ing just that. The biggest one in" rel="nofollow">in the United States is called ViaGen. They have the ability to clone your own pet. They can also clone livestock and horses, and have provided this service to large companies who raise livestock and horses for a livin" rel="nofollow">ing. Here is a quote from ViaGen: "ViaGen Pets is committed to helpin" rel="nofollow">ing dog and cat owners contin" rel="nofollow">inue the lovin" rel="nofollow">ing embrace and experience with their animals through the delivery of healthy genetic twin" rel="nofollow">ins that may embody many of the same personality and behavioral traits." Click on the lin" rel="nofollow">ink below to view their site and their services. There are also lin" rel="nofollow">inks that allow you to take advantages of those services today: ViaGen.com ( https://www.viagen.com/?gclid=COKdl-jtw80CFddahgodDzMJ4Q ) So, what do you thin" rel="nofollow">ink? Certain" rel="nofollow">inly, I do not want to in" rel="nofollow">influence your thoughts. I can just tell you that this, and the other clonin" rel="nofollow">ing companies, are legitimate. AND, this is NOT science fiction.