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[RC] A second chance at the same horse and other cloning questions - katswig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxFrom: beryls2001 beryl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx And wouldn't you want a second chance at the same horse? Personally, no thanks. And besides, just because it is an identical twin (that is the old way that genetic duplicates were described) doesn't mean its the same horse. Identical twins have existed in humans for as long as recorded history, and virtually everybody agrees that you do both of them a disservice if you forget that they are individuals in their own right and raise/treat them as if they were the same (and most of them resent the hell out of it). Certainly, plenty of studies have been done on identical twins (it is, in fact, one of biology's and psychology's favorite things to do), and it has been discovered that they have less in common than one might be inclined to think. From the very first cloned foal, we already know that cloned horses are BORN with different markings from the original (though markings are an obvious and easily determinable difference, it would be wrong to assume that just because the difference in markings is the only one you can see when the horse is born that it is the only difference that exists). The new technology of cloning is a very expensive way to get what is, in essence, not much different from any other new horse that is genetically related to the one you have (or the one you would like to have). To try to correct any mistakes you made? Don't fool yourself into thinking that having a clone will give you the chance to undo your mistakes on the original. The mistakes on the original will still exist no matter what you do with your new horse (and no matter what the genetic makeup of your new horse). You can (hopefully) avoid making the same mistakes on the next horse whether it is a identical twin or not. Whether identical twins will "breed on" the same way that an original would have is, at least so far, impossible to determine. Nobody has a clue as to what extent heritability is entirely genetically determined. It is totally possible that the breeding equipment of the twin is slightly differently developed than the original and consequently the total crap shoot of which of 16+ billion sperm in any one ejaculate fertizes which egg that matures at which time in a mare is affected by something other than the DNA of the participants. Cloning may be scientifically interesting (and it may help to answer some of these questions); however, it won't allow you to undo mistakes. And from a genetic improvement/selective breeding standpoint it is theoretically suspect. Recombinent DNA is the reproductive technique of all of the "higher" life forms (because it is recombinent DNA that provides the most opportunity for improvement, you don't have to wait for a genetic mutation). Why it is that people would want to use a reproduction technique that is has been practiced by bacteria for millenia and is shared by snails is beyond me :). kat Orange County, Calif. -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ . =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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