NATIONAL NEWS
February 20, 2002
A Real Copy Cat!
Meet cc (short for carbon copy), the first cat clone
 Cc,the first-ever cloned cat, was born on December 22, 2001. |
Meet "cc," (short for carbon copy and copy cat) the first kitty clone. The 2-month-old "copycat" was born in a laboratory at Texas A&M University. She's a calico kitten who looks a lot like Rainbow, the cat she was "copied" from. That's because cc was made from Rainbow's genes. Genes are the instructions inside cells that determine what a living thing looks like, among other traits. All non-cloned, naturally-created mammals, including humans, have a combination of genes from two parents.
 |  Rainbow the cat donated her cells in order to clone cc. |
Copy-cows and Sheep, Too
Cc is the first cat clone but one of a growing number of animal clones, that began with Dolly the sheep. Scientists have also cloned pigs, goats, cattle, mice and the ox-like gaur.
Cloning expert Mark Westhusin told TIME that ever since Dolly's appearance in 1997, his phone hasn't stopped ringing with calls from people who want to join in the copycat business and reproduce their cats, dogs, cows and horses. "A lot of people want to clone pets. A lot of people." One pet owner has put up $3.7 million to fund Westhusin's work. He hopes Westhusin will clone the first dog, the donor's 13-year-old pet Missy.
|  Allie the cat poses with cc. Allie gave birth to cc using Rainbow's genes. |
Not everybody is thrilled with this scientific breakthrough. Some people worry that people will think of cloning like xeroxing and forget about the precious and unique nature of a life. The Humane Society, a group that advocates for animals, is also not happy about cloning. They say there are already too many cats without homes and that cloning would only make this problem worse.
Not an Exact Science
Scientists stress that cloning is not easy or cheap. It took researchers 188 tries to get just this one kitten. And exact copies are not likely. Although cc strongly resembles her only parent, Rainbow, she is not a precise duplicate. Still, the benefits of cloning could be great, even life-saving. It would be easier to breed seeing-eye and rescue dogs. Cloned pigs could provide organ transplants for humans. Cow clones could be used to make life-saving medicines.
Despite these benefits, the cloning process has a long way to go toward making sure that clones are born free of any illnesses.
