What is biotechnology Biotechnology is a set of

What is biotechnology? • Biotechnology is a set of scientific tools which uses living things to solve problems and make products. • It covers many kinds of technology. • Some, like using yeasts for brewing, have been around for centuries. Others, like genetic testing, are very recent. • Cloning and stem cell research form another branch of biotechnology

Introduction • The word ‘cloning’ simply means copying. • When people think about cloning they usually think about copying complete human beings or animals like Dolly the sheep. • But cloning is also used for purposes other than making exact copies of animals or people. • Individual cells of plants, animals and human beings are copied every day in research and clinical laboratories.

What is a Clone? An organism that has the same genetic information as another organism

Why Clone? 1. To mass produce organisms with desired qualities 2. Repopulate endangered or even extinct species 3. Organ transplants for humans 4. Recovery of lost loved ones 5. Infertility: cloning a fertile copy of themselves 6. Creation of spare body parts (Organs, blood, kidney’s, etc. )

Eugenics • Is the choosing of specific traits and the deleting of others. • Scientist could eliminate all the disease-causing genes and guarantee a healthy baby. • But is that ethical?

GENES • Genes are strings of chemicals that help create the proteins that make up your body. • Genes are found in long coiled chains called chromosomes. • They are located in the nuclei of the cells in the body.

GENES

II. "THREE WAYS TO MAKE AN EMBRYO" 1. Sexual reproduction 2. Cloning or asexual reproduction 3. Parthenogenesis

1. SEXUAL REPRODUCTION • In sexual reproduction a child gets half its genes from the mother (in her egg) and half from its father (in his sperm):

2. CLONING OR ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION • Cloning is an asexual form of reproduction. • All the child's genes would come from a body cell of a single individual.

2. CLONING OR ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

Who is the clonal child's genetic mother or father? As we understand those terms, a clonal child wouldn't have a genetic mother or father, it would have a single 'nuclear donor

If a man cloned himself, would the child be that man's son or his twin brother? It would be neither, it would be a new category of biological relationship: his clone.

3. PARTHENOGENESIS

History of cloning • 5000 B. C. - humans plant hearty seeds to reproduce crop for following year. • 1952 - A tadpole is cloned being the first cloned animal in history. • 1976 - Human DNA injected into a newly fertilized mouse egg to produce mice that are part human. • 1978 - Worlds first test tube baby. • 1987 - First mammals are cloned from embryonic cells. • 1998 - Japanese researchers announce they have produced two calf clones using Dolly method. • 1998 - University of Hawaii researchers announce they have produced more than 50 mouse clones. • 2000 - Britain becomes the first country to grant a patent for cloned earlystage human embryos. Geron Corporation, which received the patent, says is has no intention of creating cloned humans. • 2000 - The group that created Dolly the sheep announces the first cloned pigs. Scientists hope that pigs could be genetically engineered for use in human organ transplants.

There are three levels of cloning: 1) Molecular cloning 2) Cellular cloning 3) Cloning of animal

Molecular cloning: • At the simplest level, molecular biologists routinely make clones of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the molecular basis of genes. • DNA fragments containing genes are copied and amplified in a host cell, usually a bacterium. • The process of molecular cloning allows the scientists to produce large quantities of identical DNA to be use in many scientific experiments.

Cellular cloning: • At the cellular stage, cellular cloning copies are made of cells derived from the soma, or body, by growing these cells in a laboratory. • The genetic makeup of the resulting cloned cells, called a cell line, is identical to that of the original cell. • Since molecular and cellular cloning of this sort does not involve germ cells (eggs or sperm), the cloned cells are not capable of developing into a baby.

Cloning of animal: • This type of cloning aims to reproduce genetically identical animals. • This level of cloning can typically be divided into two distinct processes, : 1. Blastomere separation and 2. Nuclear transplantation cloning.

Three Ways to Clone Mammals: 1. Twinning (Embryo cloning) , (spitting off a cell from an embryo) 2. The Roslin Technique (nuclear transfer), (which was used to create Dolly) 3. The Honolulu Technique

1. 1. Twinning (Embryo cloning): • Once an egg has been fertilized by sperm- it soon starts to divide. • If it divides into an 8 cell embryo and those 8 cells are separated, those cells can be implanted into the uteri of 8 separate mothers. • 8 clones will be born from 8 different mothers. • It has been successfully carried out for years on many species of animals. • Some very limited experimentation has been done on human embryos

2. The Roslin Technique (nuclear transfer) • Current technique used in the cloning of adult animals. • Nuclear transfer requires 2 cells- a donor cell, and an oocyte, or egg cell.

2. The Roslin Technique (nuclear transfer)

Five Basic Steps and Requirements 1. Enucleation of recipient egg 2. Transfer of the donor cell into the recipient egg 3. Fusion of the donor cell to the recipient egg 4. Culturing the resulting cloned embryo in the incubator 5. Transferring the developing embryo into the reproductive tract of a surrogate mother.

About Dolly 1. The animal to be cloned( mature 6 year old sheep) donates DNA material - mammary gland cell(46 XO) 2. The donor cell is then forced into G 0 cell dormant stage 3. It was fused with a sheep ovum which had its nucleus removed 4. They are fused with an electric pulse 5. Transplant into a surrogate mother at the 8 to 64 cell stage & donor animal will be born

About Dolly • Out of 277 attempts at cell fusion, only 29 began to divide. • These were all implanted in ewes. • Thirteen became pregnant but only one lamb, Dolly, was born. • Cloned by UK scientist Dr. Ian Wilmut in Roslin Institute, Scotland • Dolly was the first large animal to ever be cloned • Dolly was cloned on Feb. 1997

About Dolly • On March 24 1999: • Dolly gave birth to 3 lambs , 2 boys and 1 girl • Genetically she was 6 years -old when born.

HUMAN CLONING 1. Reproductive cloning 2. Therapeutic cloning

1. Reproductive cloning uses the cloning procedure to produce a clonal embryo which is implanted in a woman's womb with intent to create a fully formed living child--a clone-

1. Reproductive cloning has been suggested as a last resort when an infertile couple are unable to conceive a biologically related child via any other method

2. Therapeutic cloning • uses the cloning procedure to produce a clonal embryo, but instead of being implanted in a womb and brought to term , it is used to generate stem cells, • The purpose of using clonal embryos to generate stem cells is to allow creation of tissues or organs that the clonal donor can use without having these tissues or organs rejected by their body's immune system.

HUMAN CLONING ( Ethical view) • Most people oppose reproductive cloning. • Some people oppose reproductive cloning but support therapeutic cloning. • Others oppose therapeutic cloning as well as reproductive cloning, either because they are opposed to the destruction of embryos as a matter of principle, or because they feel the acceptance of therapeutic cloning will set us on a slippery slope to the acceptance of reproductive cloning and human genetic manipulation. • It is possible to support stem cell research and still oppose research involving therapeutic cloning.

The potential benefits of human cloning • Two major benefits to human health: 1. Assisted Reproduction 2. Human Organ/Tissue Transplantation

1. Assisted Reproduction - An alternative for infertile couples. e. g. , when both individuals of a couple are infertile or the prospective father has nonfunctional sperm. - Desirable choice for couples who want to have genetically related child and intends to provide a loving environment for the child.

2. Human Organ/Tissue Transplantation: • Human cloning is helpful in providing organs that can be transplanted readily without fear of rejection • The human diseases treatable by transplantation are diverse Including : a) Blood disorder (e. g. , Leukemia and sickle cell anemia) b) Liver conditions (e. g. , Cirrhosis and familial hypercholesterolemia) c) Lung diseases (e. g. , Cystic fibrosis and emphysema) d) Pancreatic diseases (e. g. , Diabetes) e) Brain disorders (e. g. , Parkinson’s disease)

3. Other possible advantages: 1. Cure cancer 2. Eradication of genetic disease 3. The possibility that through cloning technology we will learn to renew activity of damaged cells by growing new cells and replacing them. 4. The benefit of studying cell differentiation at the same time that cloning is studied and developed.

Potential Harms and Disadvantages • Risks of physical harm to the child born through somatic cell nuclear transfer

Risks of : 1. hormonal manipulation in the egg donor; 2. multiple miscarriages in the birth mother; and possibly severe developmental abnormalities in any resulting child. 3. The possibility of compromising individualities. 4. Loss of genetic variation. 5. A “black market” of fetuses may arise from desirable donors that will want to clone themselves, i. e. , movie stars, athletes, etc.

Risks of : 6. Technology is not well developed. • It has a low fertility rate. • In cloning Dolly, 277 eggs were used, 30 started to divide, nine induced pregnancy, and only one survived to term (Nash). 7. Clones may be treated as second-class citizens. 8. Unknown psychosocial harms with impacts on the family and society.

Will cellular aging affect the ability of somatic cell nuclei to program normal development? • As somatic cell divide they progressively age, and there is normally a defined number of cell divisions that they can undergo. • This aging process will affect the development and the resulting clone cell

HUMAN GENETIC ENGINEERING • Human genetic engineering means changing the genes in a living human cell. • Suppose you had a lung disease caused by defective genes in your lung cells. If there was a way to fix those genes, you might be cured. • Scientists change the genes in living cells by putting the desired "new" gene into a little virus-like organism which is allowed to get into your cells and which inserts the new gene into the cell along with the "old" genes:

HUMAN GENETIC ENGINEERING

VI. HUMAN GENETIC ENGINEERING: DISTINCTION BETWEEN TWO APPLICATIONS : 1. "Somatic "genetic engineering 2. "Germ line" genetic engineering

"Somatic "genetic engineering • Is genetic engineering that targets the genes in specific organs and tissues of the body of a single existing person without affecting genes in their eggs or sperm. • Somatic gene transfer experiments are currently undergoing clinical trials, with mixed results to date. But they may someday be effective

"Germ line" genetic engineering • Is genetic engineering that targets the genes in eggs, sperm, or very early embryos. • The alterations affect every cell in the body of the resulting individual, and are passed on to all future generations. • Germ line engineering is banned in many countries but not in the U. S. [note: The term "somatic" comes from the Greek "soma" for "body. " The term "germline" refers to the "germ" or "germinal" cells, the eggs and sperm.

Designer Baby Called “Designer Baby” or the “ Child of your Dreams”. • This is done by picking up the correct type of genes you want the child to have. • You can create the appearance of your child and design his or her intelligence level. • Parents would be able to create a highperformance child. • Selecting embryo with the right kind of gene to be implanted into the mother’s womb would also enable the child to be free from inheritable diseases.

DESIGNER BABY

PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS AND SELECTION (PDS) • Many people assume that germline engineering is necessary to allow couples at risk of passing on a genetic disease to avoid doing so. • This is not so. • Procedures already exist that make this possible, including adoption and gamete and embryo donation.

PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS AND SELECTION (PDS) • In addition the alternative of preimplantation diagnosis and selection allows couples to have a child that is fully genetically related to both of them and which does not carry the genetic disease about which they are concerned.

PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS AND SELECTION (PDS) • The PDS procedure begins in the same way that germ line engineering would, with an IVF procedure, but instead of seeking to change the genes in unhealthy embryos it simply selects the healthy embryos themselves for implantation in the mother.

PRE-IMPLANTATION GENETIC DIAGNOSIS AND SELECTION (PDS)

What are stem cells? • Cells which have the ability to continuously divide and develop into various kinds of tissue. • Stem cells are primordial cells capable of developing into a variety of types of cells. • Some stem cells are found in the adult body. • Others are found in very early embryos. • These stem cells can be cultured in petri dishes and potentially used to generate "therapeutic tissues" or "spare organs":

Cell Types 1. Somatic – these are the normal cells in our body, except for our reproductive cells (egg and sperm) 2. Pluripotent – these types of cells can give rise to most types of cells in the body, but cannot make a human embryo 3. Totipotent – these types of cells have unlimited ability. 1. 2. They can make a human embryo They can specialize into any kind of cell in the body

What totipotent cells can do?

STEM CELLS

STEM CELLS

Potential medical benefits from stem cell research • Stem cell technology is a new but rapidly expanding field. • Researchers are hoping that stem cells can be used to repair diseased or damaged tissue in patients.

Potential Benefits 1. Cancer research – cancer cells display abnormal cell development. Stem cell research can help us understand why cancer cells begin to divide uncontrollably. 2. Birth defects – some birth defects occur because of abnormal cell division or specialization. 3. Drug testing – new medications could be tested using human cells instead of animal, evaluating their effectiveness earlier in the process. 4. Generation of new cells for a wide variety of uses

The sources of stem cells 1. Unused human embryos from in vitro fertilization. 2. Aborted human fetuses

There is a third alternative for stem cells: 3. Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer which is the technique used in cloning

Different kinds of stem cells 1. Embryonic stem cells come from embryos (<6 weeks). 2. Stem cells from blastocysts (2 weeks) are virtually “immortal”. 3. Fetal stem cells come from fetuses (> 6 weeks) 4. Stem cells are present in some adult tissues, including brain, spinal cord, and bone marrow.

Embryonic stem cells • Embryonic cells are pluripotent and virtually immortal. • Embryonic stem cells can form tumors called teratomas. • Several methods are now available to control growth of embryonic stem cells.

Adult stem cells • Adult stem cells also have the capacity to produce many different cell types, including neurons. • A person’s own stem cells should be the best source of cells for transplantation • Adult stem cells will eventually substitute for embryonic stem cells.

Question to consider: Is it acceptable to use stem cells from fetuses for medical research or treatment?

Questions to consider: • Do we think it is acceptable to use early embryos to provide stem cells? • Do early embryos have rights? • Is it acceptable to create an embryo by cloning in order to provide stem cells to be used for medical research or treatment?

Spare’ embryos‘ • There are many stored embryos in countries where infertility treatments are offered, • If they are not used they are destroyed or allowed to perish. • On the other hand, there is a shortage of unfertilized eggs available to infertility clinics. • Researchers prefer using ‘spare’ embryos. • However, this method destroys one embryo to create another embryo, which is in turn destroyed by the removal of stem cells.

Question to consider: Is it acceptable to use early embryos remaining after fertility treatment, which would otherwise perish, to provide stem cells for research?

Fetuses from pregnancy terminations • Their ability to renew themselves is also more limited. • If such cells could be multiplied in the laboratory, then less foetal tissue would needed for treating patients. • However, animal studies have shown that it is more difficult to produce normal tissues from these cells. • It is harder to collect stem cells from foetuses than from early embryos.

Adults • Even adults can provide some stem cells, which have limited powers of renewal and change. • For example, bone marrow cells can produce all the different types of blood cells and recent research with animals indicates that they may also be able to rebuild damaged tissue.

Question to consider: Is it ethical to delay research using embryonic stem cells until it is known whether adult stem cells are as useful?

Ethical and legal issues surrounding cloning and stem cell research • None of therapies mentioned can be developed without a great deal of research and this depends on adequate supplies of stem cells. • At present, early embryos are the best source of suitable cells. • But creating and using early embryos as a source of stem cells raises ethical problems.

The range of views people have about the status of the human embryo : • On the one hand are people who see the early embryo as having the same rights to protection as they have. • On the other hand are those who see the early embryo as simply a collection of cells with no special rights. • There are many shades of opinion between these positions.

Opposition to Stem cell Research • • • Killing human embryos is unacceptable Embryonic stem cell therapies are not necessary Human embryonic stem cell research encourages abortions. The research will increase killing of human embryos Embryonic stem cells come from embryos that can become adults Embryonic stem cells come from embryos with recognizable body parts

Current Situation • Current laws do not regulate embryo production or use by private companies • Most human embryonic stem lines belong to private companies.