Clone

A clone is an organism or cell produced asexually from a single ancestor, or a copy of a digital asset. In biology, it's a genetically identical copy of a parent organism. This can occur naturally, like in the case of identical twins, or artificially through scientific processes like somatic cell nuclear transfer. The term is also used in computing to denote an identical copy of digital data, such as a file or program. The process involves replicating the genetic material (DNA or other information) from the parent to create a duplicate, often for research or replication purposes. The creation of a clone can bring about ethical considerations, especially concerning human cloning and its implications. Different methods like recombinant DNA technology, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are also tools to assist cloning.

Clone meaning with examples

• Scientists successfully *cloned* the endangered Przewalski's horse, hoping to reintroduce the species. This involved transferring the DNA of a frozen cell into an egg cell and implanting it in a surrogate mother. The foal was a genetically identical copy of the original cell donor.
• The company created a clone of the popular app to offer users a cheaper alternative. The development team reverse-engineered the existing app and built a functionally similar but not identical application with less features and a different user interface.
• In the story, the protagonist discovered he was a clone of a powerful dictator, bred to replace the original. The cloned individual had all the physical characteristics and memory of the original but a different personality which caused problems.
• To backup my files, I created a clone of my hard drive to an external storage device. This allows me to restore all my data in case of a system failure or data corruption so I did not need to lose any work.
• Agricultural researchers are exploring techniques to clone plants with desirable traits. For example, they may propagate a disease-resistant strain of crops to address food security needs across the globe.