Definition of Cloning

Cloning is often used as an umbrella term for processes that make exact, duplicate copies of some biological material. Scientists are now able to "clone" everything from single cells, to the entire genome of an animal. But cloning is far from perfect--success is still relatively limited, and the idea of cloning is a controversial one that raises many ethical questions.

Here are some definitions:
Cloning is a general term for the research activity that creates a copy of some biological entity such as a cell, gene, or organism. (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=cloning)

According to MedicineNet.com, cloning is the process of making a clone, a genetically identical copy. Cloning can refer to the technique of producing a genetically identical copy of an organism by replacing the nucleus of an unfertilized ovum with the nucleus of a body cell from the organism.

The Oxford English Dictionary states that a clone is: An animal or (theoretically) a person that is developed asexually from its parent to whom it is genetically identical. An animal, embryo, etc. developed from a denucleated egg cell into which nuclear material from a somatic cell has been transferred.

C. Heard