Are there human clones living among us? Can we bring dinosaurs back from extinction? Have ANY mammals been cloned, and what does “cloned” really mean? In this module of the course, you will learn if a genetically identical copy, i.e., a “reproductive clone,” has been made of any mammal (and a wee bit about plant cloning). Uses of therapeutic cloning, in which clones are created but not allowed to be born, will also be discussed. In the second half of the module, techniques for creating “designer human babies” will be presented. While creating a human designer baby may sound like science fiction, the first designer human children have been reported.

Infertility will, unfortunately, affect, either directly or indirectly, at least a few of you who are reading this introductory paragraph (~10-15% of the US population will deal with some type of infertility). In this module's lectures, you will learn what causes infertility and the techniques developed to combat it. Contrary to what has been believed throughout most of human history, infertility results equally from male-specific and female-specific issues. In vitro fertilization (better known as IVF) was developed in the late 1970’s to increase the chance that infertile individuals could have children. A complementary technique that is used with IVF, called Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT), will also be covered in this module. We will end the lecture portion of this module by covering how IVF clinics report their success rates. The readings in this module provide additional details on the first person ever born using IVF and present a number of different opinions regarding the use of Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT).

Human stem cells, in theory, can be harnessed to create new organs or even an entirely new human being. In this module, you will learn about the “classical” technique of deriving stem cells from human embryos. These embryos, created through in vitro fertilization (IVF)—which we will cover in Module 3—are unfortunately destroyed during the process. The field of stem cell research experienced a revolution in 2006 with the discovery of the “Yamanaka factors,” which enable the transformation of your own body cells into stem cells. This breakthrough could pave the way for generating replacement organs made from your very own cells! Additionally, we will briefly cover the regulations, as well as the lack of regulations, governing stem cell research and stem cell-based therapies. The readings in this module discuss the federal, state, and international regulations that oversee the use of human stem cells.

Let’s create a clone of Dr. Harfe! (Just imagine how many more innovative courses he could design and teach!). While I'm not sure if you'd consider taking another course with me in this hypothetical scenario, we’ll explore the feasibility of human cloning. In this module, we’ll examine what can and cannot currently be achieved in the realm of cloning. We'll also discuss a notable experiment where three humans were created and genetically modified at the one-cell stage in an effort to develop individuals resistant to HIV. If the experiment was successful, it’s thought that their future offspring might also be immune to HIV, though the results remain uncertain. We’ll also tackle the ethical implications and the international regulations surrounding human cloning and the genetic modification of embryos