Seeing Double

    There’s been a death in the family. Your dog Max is gone. You loved him more than anything. Now, you don’t know what to do.

    You don’t want another dog. He wouldn’t have that little brown spot above his eye. He wouldn’t rub his head against your leg the same way. No dog could replace Max.

    But wait. Suppose you could have an exact copy of Max. Yes, the brown spot would be there. Maybe he’d rub his head against your leg the same way too. And this new puppy would be made from a piece of Max himself!

    There has been a death in the family. Your dog Max has died. You loved Max. What do you do?

    You don’t want another dog. He wouldn’t look the same. He wouldn’t act the same. No dog could take the place of Max.

    But wait. What if you could have a copy of Max? Your new dog would look like Max. He could act like Max. He would be Max 2. Why? He would be made from Max!

    There’s been a death in the family. Your dog Max has passed away. You loved him more than anything, and you’re not sure what to do now.

    You’re definitely not interested in getting a new dog. He wouldn’t have that little brown spot above his eye, and he wouldn’t rub his head against your leg the same way. No dog could replace Max.

    But suppose you could have an exact copy of Max. Yes, the brown spot would be there, and he might even rub his head against you too. Believe it or not, he would be made from a piece of Max himself!

    Is this a horror movie? Where’s the creepy music? Where’s the evil laugh? Where’s the monster dog?

    Don’t worry. This is not a horror movie.

    This is a story about science. Scientists know how to copy animals. It’s called cloning. Some people clone their pets.

    Here’s how cloning works. Scientists cut a small piece of skin from a pet, like Max. They take one cell from the skin. Then they remove an egg from a female dog. They combine the egg and the cell. The egg and the cell turn into an embryo. An embryo is the start of growth for humans and animals.

    Next, the embryo is placed inside a female dog. It grows inside its “mother.” Two months later, a puppy is born. The puppy is a copy of the original dog.

    If this were a horror movie, the creepy music would start now. Then the evil laugh would rise from the basement of the castle. Finally, the monster dog would appear in the glowing moonlight.

    But none of that is happening in this story. This is a story about science. Even the part about making a new dog from a piece of Max is something that can really happen in a laboratory. Scientists today can make exact copies of animals through a process called cloning, and people are using this process to re-create the pets they loved.

    Here’s how cloning works: Scientists cut a small piece of skin from the animal that is to be cloned, like Max the dog. From that piece of skin, the scientists take a single cell. Then they remove an egg from a female dog. In a lab, the scientists combine the egg and the cell. If everything proceeds properly, the egg and the cell turn into an embryo, which is the very beginning of growth for humans and animals.

    In the next step, the embryo is placed inside another female dog. It grows inside its new “mother,” and about two months later, a puppy is born. That puppy is an exact copy of the original dog. And you have your new pet: Max 2.

    The first animal was cloned about 20 years ago. Since then, not many clones have been made. Cloning is complicated. It works about once every five times. And it costs a lot of money. ViaGen Pets clones pets. The company is in Texas. A dog costs $50,000. A cat costs $25,000.

    But cloning isn’t just for pet owners. Trans Ova Genetics is another cloning company. It is in Iowa. It clones farm animals. Some farm animals are more productive than others. For example, certain cows make more milk than others. Some farmers clone their best cows. Then they breed the clones. The calves may produce a lot of milk too.

    It costs about $20,000 to clone a cow. To some farmers, the cost is worth it. A cloned cow can help a farm stay in business. It can also help produce more milk for the world.

    Although scientists have known how to clone animals for about 20 years, there aren’t many clones walking around. The process is complicated, succeeds only about 20 percent of the time, and is costly. The Texas company ViaGen Pets charges $50,000 to clone a dog and $25,000 to clone a cat.

    But cloning isn’t just for grieving pet owners. Companies like Trans Ova Genetics in Iowa clone mostly farm animals, like cows and pigs. On every farm, some animals are much more productive than others. For example, certain cows make more milk than other cows. Some farmers clone their best cows and then breed the clones. The farmers hope that the calves born from the highly productive clones will produce as much milk as their mothers.

    Cloning a cow costs about $20,000. To some farmers, the high cost is worth every penny, because a cloned cow can help a farm stay in business. It can also help produce more milk for the world.

    It may be worth thousands of dollars to clone a farm animal. But does it really make sense to clone a pet? 

    Some people say that cloning is cruel to animals. To get eggs, scientists have to perform surgery on female animals. Other females have to carry the embryos for months. Most of the time, the embryos don’t grow well. The scientists have to start all over again.

    And clones may not turn out exactly like the original. The way an animal acts and looks depends partly on how it grows up. Max 2 will grow up with different experiences than Max 1. That means he’ll be a different dog. Maybe Max 1 learned to rub his head against you. Max 2 might just put his chin on your lap and stare.

    In the end, death might be a problem science can’t solve. There will only ever be one Max. And maybe that’s a good thing. 

    Cloning a cow might make sense. But does it make sense to clone a pet?

    Some people say “no.” They say cloning is cruel. Scientists perform surgery on female animals to get eggs. Other females have to carry the embryos. Often, the embryos don’t grow well. The scientists have to start all over.

    And clones may not turn out like the original. Experiences affect animals. Max 2 will grow up with different experiences than Max 1. So Max 2 will be a different dog. Maybe Max 1 rubbed his head against your leg. But Max 2 might just put his chin on your lap.

    Maybe science can’t solve the problem of death. There might only be one Max. And maybe that’s a good thing.

    Cloning a farm animal has measurable benefits, but does it make sense to clone a pet?

    Some people argue that cloning is cruel to animals. Scientists have to perform surgery on female animals to get eggs, and then other females have to carry the embryos for months. Most of the time, the embryos don’t grow successfully and the process has to be repeated from the beginning.

    Another issue is that clones may not turn out exactly like the original. The way an animal behaves and looks depends partly on how it is raised. For example, Max 2 will grow up with different experiences than Max 1. As a result, Max 2 will be a different dog. Maybe Max 1 learned to rub his head against you. Max 2, however, might just put his chin on your lap and stare.

    In the end, death might be a problem that science can’t solve. Maybe there will only ever be one Max—and maybe that’s a good thing.