Originally posted by GmanJoe
Apparently cloned animals have had organ malfunctions in its middle life cycle. Poor baby.
More info on why cloned animals are having problems. I took this from another forum.
The problems that you mention with Dolly are due to the telomeres on the ends of it\'s DNA. They comprise something of a clock for cell activity. After each division one of the telomeres is shed. After all the telomeres are shed the cell dies. So yes, what we may see in some of these clones is a problem with premature cell death. In order to produce a clone properly, we would have to either figure out how to reset the telomeres or more interestingly, treat the DNA with
telomerase before implantation. Telomerase essentially stops the strand from shedding telomeres. It can then divide infintely. Maybe this would in itself cause problems? Or maybe you could end up with an organism that does not experience age related tissue degeneration. I\'m not saying that you end up with an immortal organism, I\'m just thinking that you might end up with an organism who\'s tissues do not decline as rapidly in old age...
1. Would a telomerase enabled organism experience this tissue degradation?
2. Would this activity naturally lead to cancer or could other mechanisms of cell death keep this in check.
3. If other mechanisms can control it, would the organism have a greater propensity for getting cancer?
4. Would hormonal and other genetic triggers still cause the organism to die "on time" or would there be a net increase in lifespan?