Stem cells' value to researchers is that they can be induced into becoming specific tissue or organ cells. ... The stem cells can be induced to differentiate into different types of cells as needed (heart, nerve, muscle, etc.). These cells are genetically identical to the patient's own cells (that is, they are cloned).

Is cloning the same as stem cell?

Therapeutic cloning creates a line of embryonic stem cells genetically identical to an individual. Reproductive cloning creates a new organism genetically identical to an individual. ... Some people object to making human embryonic stem cells by nuclear transfer for two reasons.

What cells are used in cloning?

In reproductive cloning, researchers remove a mature somatic cell, such as a skin cell, from an animal that they wish to copy. They then transfer the DNA of the donor animal's somatic cell into an egg cell, or oocyte, that has had its own DNA-containing nucleus removed.