Question 1: Define therapeutic cloning in your own words.

Answer: Therapeutic cloning is a process of creating embryonic stem cells that are genetically identical to a patient, used to generate tissues or organs for transplant.

Question 2: Describe the main difference between reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning.

Answer: Reproductive cloning aims to create a whole organism, while therapeutic cloning produces cells or tissues for medical treatment.

Question 3: Explain the basic mechanism involved in therapeutic cloning.

Answer: Therapeutic cloning involves extracting a somatic cell and transferring its nucleus into an enucleated egg cell. The egg is stimulated to develop into an embryo, from which stem cells are harvested. These stem cells are genetically identical to the donor and can be used to generate tissues or organs for transplants.

Question 1: If the success rate of cloning a human embryo is 1%, how many attempts are needed to successfully produce 5 cloned embryos?

Answer: To produce 5 successful clones at a 1% success rate, number of attempts = 5 / 0.01 = 500 attempts.

Question 2: Calculate the total number of stem cells obtained if each cloned embryo yields approximately 10 million stem cells, and 3 embryos are successfully cloned.

Answer: Total stem cells = 3 embryos × 10 million stem cells = 30 million stem cells.

Question 1: List three safety precautions scientists should follow during the cloning process in a laboratory setting.

Answer: Using sterile equipment, wearing protective gloves and eyewear, and properly disposing of biological waste.

Question 2: Identify two ethical issues associated with therapeutic cloning.

Answer: Concerns about the moral status of embryos and potential misuse of cloning technology.

Question 1: A study reports that out of 200 attempts at therapeutic cloning, 4 embryos successfully developed into healthy stem cell lines. What is the success rate, and how does it compare to the general success rate of 1%? Explain briefly.

Answer: Success rate = (4 / 200) × 100 = 2%. This is double the general success rate of 1%, indicating a higher efficiency in this study's method.

Question 1: Describe how therapeutic cloning could potentially be used to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Answer: Therapeutic cloning can produce dopamine-producing nerve cells from a patient’s own stem cells, reducing the risk of rejection when transplanted into the brain to treat Parkinson’s disease.

Question 2: Discuss one limitation or challenge of applying therapeutic cloning in medicine.

Answer: One major challenge is the risk of genetic abnormalities or mutations during the cloning process, which can lead to unsuccessful treatments or unintended health issues. Additionally, ethical concerns and high costs limit widespread use.