The nucleus of a fertilized egg can be removed in the laboratory and replaced wi
ID: 273552 • Letter: T
Question
The nucleus of a fertilized egg can be removed in the laboratory and replaced with the specially treated nucleus from a body cell which has had its epigenetic tags removed. The egg will then go on to develop just like a normal fertilized egg if implanted into the uterus of a female of the same species. This creates a new individual who is genetically identical to the body cell--they are a clone. This is how Dolly the sheep was first cloned and many other animals since. "Should this technique be used to try to bring back extinct species such as a mammoth or even a dinosaur, provided you could get the DNA? Or how about Einstein---his brain is in a jar? Would he still be Einstein if he was a clone?"
Explanation / Answer
Could clone technique be used to bring dinosaurs and mammoth back from extinction?
No.
- There are two ways for this: -
(a) cloning from DNA
(b)reverse-engineering
(a)Cloning:-
-Cloning requires complete, functional DNA.
-This is not available for dinosaurs.
-Under the best natural conditions conceivable, readable DNA is expected to last a couple million years, which is a far from the Mesozoic dinosaurs.
-Even DNA samples get from mammoths and other Ice Age species are incomplete, and thus cannot be used for Cloning
Related Questions
drjack9650@gmail.com
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.