Do you remember when cloning of animals was brought to the world’s attention as Barbra Streisand revealed that she had her late beloved dog, Samantha, cloned twice before the dog died? The two Coton du Tulears puppies – Miss Violet and Miss Scarlet – were cloned using cells taken from Samantha’s mouth and stomach before she passed away. The singer wanted to make another Samantha. But … “They have different personalities,” Streisand said in her interview.
Cloning takes tissue from the original animal, with its complete DNA for the whole organism, and places it into egg cells from a female of the same species. After “zapping” the merged cells with electricity so they start dividing, the cells are placed in a surrogate mother to carry the embryos to birth.
Clones are exact genetic copies. Every bit of their original DNA is identical. Clones happen naturally too, as in the case of identical twins.
The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was upset with Streisand for disclosing in her interview that she cloned her dog. And they released this statement: “We all want our beloved dogs to live forever, but while it may sound like a good idea, cloning doesn’t achieve that – instead, it creates a new and different dog who has only the physical characteristics of the original. Animals’ personalities, quirks, and very ‘essence’ simply cannot be replicated, and when you consider that millions of wonderful adoptable dogs are languishing in animal shelters every year…”
I like that – “…personalities, quirks, and very ‘essence’ simply cannot be replicated…” Well said. And I like it when a radical leftist group admits the failing of naturalism/materialism!
Though Barbra Streisand was not able to resurrect Samantha, God did resurrect Jesus! And He will bring us into the fullness of that resurrection one day, too!
– Mark Cadwallader, Creation Moments Board Chairman
Photo: CC, the first cloned cat, shown here at age 2 in 2003 with her owner. (CC BY-SA 3.0) 418
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