For hundreds of years people have been attempting to prolong life, and essentially become immortal. There are many new technologies in this time of scientific exploration and advancement that claim to do these things. There are four main methods that are currently being studied as ways to either prolong life or to become immortal. These are Cloning, Cryonics, Calorie Restriction and Hormone Replacement Therapy. Each of these take a different approach to mans constant search for immortality.
Cloning has been used by scientists as a general term for producing a replicate copy of a biological material. More specifically there are three main different methods of cloning. To the Human Genome Project scientists cloning is the copying of genes and other pieces of chromosomes to generate material for further medical studies. The two other methods produce an identical full other being. Blastome separation or twinning is splitting a developing embryo soon after fertilization to give way to the growth of two organisms in the womb. The final way is using one parent's DNA. To make a clone this way, scientists first take an egg and remove all of its genetic material. Then the nucleus of a preexisting cell is taken from the individual to be cloned and inserted into the hollowed-out egg. This is known as Somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Currently Clonaid, the company who first produced a clone using the Somatic cell nuclear transfer method has produced three babies. This is one way to attempt a type of immortality, by passing on genes to future generation. This is useful for couples who are infertile or single parents want to project a piece of themselves into the future. There has also been spare body parts made from single cells. This can be used to prolong life, for example if a person needs a heart transplant, a clone of their own heart would be a perfect match, reducing the risk of rejection by the body, making the transplant successful.
