Includes index. Bibliography : p. 43. For secondary school students.

Cloning is the production of a cell or organism with the same nuclear genome as another cell or organism. Reproductive cloning is the production of a human fetus from a single cell by nuclear replacement, while therapeutic cloning produces human stem cells, tissues and organs without resulting in the production of genetically identical fetuses or babies. There appears to be a global consensus against using cloning techniques for reproductive purposes, in spite of inconsistency in the regulation of these techniques between countries. Australian scientists will now be able to create cloned human embryos after Federal Parliament recently voted to overturn a 2002 ban on the research in a rare conscience vote. The decision gives hope to thousands of Australians living with debilitating diseases, however ongoing advances in biotechnology continue to raise often difficult ethical and moral questions in the community debate about cloning and stem cell science. What are the latest breakthroughs in animal and human reproductive cloning, therapeutic cloning and stem cell research? What are the ethical issues raised by this research?