Cloning Assignment

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2002

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The world is losing many species of plants and animals at an alarming rate. In California alone the difference between the present and 200 years ago is strikingly apparent. In the coastal mountains from Eureka to Los Angeles where hundreds of majestic California Condors used to soar, now there are less than a dozen in the wild. In the marshes of the Central Valley vast herds of Tulle Elk used to graze, but no more, their numbers have also been depleted. The trout and salmon in California's rivers and streams have also been extirpated or depleted in many areas. And everywhere in California along the pacific flyway there are only remnant populations of waterfowl where they once used to darken the sky and fill the air with the sound of thunder as they passed overhead. In order to reverse this depressing trend, or at least prevent the loss of certain endangered species, some have suggested that we clone them, but is that solution as simple as it seems? After reading "Cloning Noah's Ark" written by Robert P.

Lanza, Betsy L. Dresser, and Philip Damiani which was published in Scientific American magazine I have much more knowledge about the cloning process and what scientists are now doing to clone endangered species. Advancements in cloning are helping the endangered species of our world. Currently the scientists are awaiting the birth of a gaur. A gaur is an ox-like member of the bovine family. By cloning animals preserved body cells, scientists can keep genes of that animal alive and try to save the species. While cloning technology will not clone all endangered species it does offer a chance to save some. The process is very simple to explain, a lot more difficult to actually do. A needle jabs through the protective layer surrounding...