Clones are created through somatic cell nuclear transfer, resulting in an individual with 99.7% genetic similarity to the donor. However, clones would have less genetic similarity to their donor than an identical twin. Human cloning success claims have been revealed as hoaxes, and the process has a high failure rate.
Clones are created through somatic cell nuclear transfer, an approach to cloning in which the nucleus of an egg cell is replaced with the nucleus of a somatic, or non-reproductive, cell from a person to be cloned. Under ideal conditions, the two fuse seamlessly together and the egg is activated by a discharge of electricity, then deposited in a uterus and allowed to grow and differentiate. If the fertilized egg develops into a fetus and reaches full term, the result is an individual with approximately 99.7% genetic similarity to the somatic cell donor: a clone. This value is not 100% because there is important DNA in the cell that exists outside the nucleus, which is left over during somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Despite the belief that clones are exact copies of each other, human clones would have less genetic similarity to their clone than they would to an identical twin. Brain templates that code for details of personality, memories, abilities and the like would not be transferred from cell donors.
Many claims of human cloning success have surfaced in the past, only to be revealed as hoaxes. A human embryo has been successfully cloned by at least one group: Advanced Cell Technology, an American company that achieved this milestone in 2001. However, the embryo divided only a few times and never became a true fetus or a newborn. Some countries, such as Australia, have already passed legislation banning the use of human cloning for any purpose.
One challenge to cloning is that the current process is all manual: A human operator must use a tiny needle to aspirate the nucleus from a somatic cell and inject it into an egg cell. The trial-and-error nature of somatic cell nuclear transfer results in a large failure rate for cloning: only 1% to 5% of attempts are successful. There’s also a big incentive for scientists to lie about progress in clone production. For example, in 2004, Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk claimed to have successfully created 30-week-old cloned embryos and harvested their stem cells. In 2006, it was determined that his claims were fabricated.
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