Cloning of animals and plants is significant for gene technology as a vehicle for adding modified genes. It can be used to develop more efficient ways to produce superior breeds of animals. The governments of advanced nations involved in gene technology have banned the cloning and genetic modification of human individuals. However, cloning technology may soon be available for human benefit to produce whole organs or special tissues from single cells for transplant to humans. It should be possible to use cells from the patient's own body and correct genetic defects before growing the tissue for transplant back into the donor.
Scientists can use gene technology to locate and analyse single genes in a chain of many thousands.
They can make gene probes that recognise DNA sequences associated with genetic diseases. The diagnostic tests involve analysing minute tissue samples collected from adults, or taken from embryos. This information can assist parents and doctors to reduce the incidence of crippling genetic defects, and treat other disorders much better. Forensic DNA fingerprinting No two individuals have the same genetic makeup, a fact that is now being used by forensic scientists to identify individuals from cell samples left at the crime site. Those patterns look something like a long bar code and are dependent on the exact sequences in the sample.