Cloning could be used to save species—or make human “organ sacks”
Scientists have developed a CRISPR-based method to create female mouse clones from male embryos by removing the Y chromosome. The article explores the dual nature of cloning technology, highlighting its potential for species conservation alongside ethical concerns regarding pet cloning and human applications.
Why it matters
Advancements in cloning technology offer significant potential for biodiversity preservation but raise complex ethical questions about the commodification of life.
Creating genetically identical copies can veer from the cool to the creepy.
This week I spoke to scientists who have found a way to turn male mouse embryos female. They’ve developed a CRISPR-based approach to essentially cut out the Y chromosome. It allowed them to create female clones of male mice .
That’s right: female animals that are genetically identical to males, except for the missing Y chromosome. Takashi Ishiuchi, a reproductive biologist at the University of Yamanashi who co-led the work, told me it felt a bit like sci-fi.
Ishiuchi and his colleague Shogo Matoba of the Riken BioResource Research Center hope their approach could be helpful in conservation efforts, especially in cases where we might have only a few individuals of a species left. But cloning has multiple uses, ranging from the cool to the outright creepy.
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