Question 4: What is the difference between a test tube baby and cloning a sheep?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Answer: This question consists of two parts: One is test tube baby and the other is cloning.

What is a test tube baby?

Under normal circumstances, it is necessary for the egg cell in the mother’s womb to unite with the sperm of the father and to form the zygote for the formation of a baby.

If the egg and the sperm cannot form the zygote after uniting under normal circumstances, the method of test tube baby is applied. In order to achieve this, the egg taken from the mother’s womb and the sperm from the father are united in a tube that has the same warmth and nutrition conditions of the mother’s womb. The sperm and egg in this tube unite and form the unicellular zygote. After a short time, this zygote is put inside the mother’s womb where the egg was taken from and a baby forms from this zygote after 9 months.

Thus, test tube baby is the way of uniting the sperm and egg cells that cannot unite under normal circumstances in a place other than the mother’s womb and enabling the zygote to be formed there and putting it back in the womb again in order to ensure the normal zygote development.

The role of man here is to eliminate negative conditions and to unite the sperm and egg and then to put it into the womb again. The creation of the sperm and egg cells and the formation of the zygote, the development and differentiation of it, the formation of organs and tissues, the coming of the spirit into the body are all beyond the will and control of man; they are the work of Allah’s knowledge, will and power.

What is cloning?

Cloning is a bit different from a test tube baby. It was first tried with a sheep. As it is known, the number of chromosomes of the sperm and egg cells in living beings, that is, in plants, animals and humans are reduced by half at a certain point. Thus, when the egg and sperm unite, the total chromosomes of them become the number of the chromosome of a normal cell. Chromosomes are made up of DNA’s, which are the basis of the genetic structure

The number of chromosomes in the normal cells of the sheep is 54; in the sperm and egg cells, it is 27. In cloning, the 27-celled egg cell in the womb of the sheep is removed. The 27-chromosome nucleus of this egg cell is replaced by the nucleus of the 54-chromosome normal cell of the sheep. From then on, this egg cell has 54 chromosomes before uniting with the sperm. This 54-chromosome cell that is called a zygote is placed in the sheep’s womb again; and it is left for the normal development. Since the egg cell has the ability to divide, it develops and differentiates as if it has been fertilized by a sperm; it yields the lamb in the normal time.

The role of the researcher here is only to remove the nucleus of the egg and replace it with the nucleus of a normal body cell and then to place this cell again in the sheep’s womb. The creation of the egg cell and the normal cells, the development and differentiation of the zygote, the formation of the organs and tissues, the arrival of the spirit in the body of the sheep are not under the control of man; they are the work of Allah’s knowledge, will and power.

In conclusion, every living being has a spirit peculiar to itself and it is created directly by Allah.

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