Knock-out mice and Cloning

Question 1

What are knock-out mice?

Answer 1

Lab-bred mic that have a section of DNA inactivated, often by inserting artificial DNA.

Question 2

How are knock-out mice used?

Answer 2

They are used to investigate the effects of a particular gene in order to study genetic diseased and develop treatments.
(Sometimes genes have different effects in different species).

Question 3

What is Cloning?

Answer 3

Where an exact copy of an organism is made, often through extracting the DNA from an adult and used to replace the DNA in a fertilised ovum. At this point the embryo is implanted into a surrogate mother and that offspring will be genetically identical to the adult who donated that DNA.

Question 4

What are the illnesses involved with Cloning?

Answer 4

• Increased birth size.
• Defects in vital organs, such as the liver, brain and heart.
• Autoimmune issues.
• Premature aging.
• Dilated major blood vessels.
• Cardiovascular defects.
• Tumors (can be cancerous).
• Kidney failure.

Question 5

What are some of the successfully cloned animals?

Answer 5

• Cattle.
• Cats.
• Sheep (in particular Dolly the sheep, the only embryo to survive out of 277 tries).

Question 6

What are the drawbacks to Cloning?

Answer 6

• Most embryos cannot develop into healthy individuals.
• Very ineffective technique.
• Eliminates genetic diversity.
• Cloned embryos typically have health conditions.
• Shortened life span.
• Expensive.
• Issues with immune system.