Dolly the Clone

On the 5 of July 1996, the first successful clone was birthed. A sheep, to be precise; Dolly the sheep. Named with a sly nod towards Dolly Parton, the cells from the udder of a pregnant six year old sheep were introduced into the uterus of a of another sheep and in the July of 1996, Dolly was born. Dolly had the exact DNA taken from the sheep six years prior, making her the first ever mammal successfully cloned using adult cells. Sadly, though, she was euthanized on the 14 of February 2003 after doctors detected progressive lung disease.
Post mortem confirmed however, that this was not likely in relation to being cloned; her telomeres were actually half as short as that of a regular sheep. Normally sheep live for about 11 to 12 years. Dolly lived only for a total of six. Spooky. Nonetheless, not a bad effort after 276 preceding failures, Dolly being the 277th attempt. Hoorah.
However, the result of this test shows that cloning has an amazing, almost limitless potential. It can be used to save endangered species or even resurrect extinct ones. Although nothing is promised, it’s not too much of a stretch to envision a possible Jurassic Park. In a true mammalian clone, the nucleus from a body cell of an animal is inserted into an egg, which then develops into an individual that is genetically identical to the original animal.
This does warrant further consideration in terms of direct benefits to the human race though, since the risk is not necessarily worth the rewards. There are controversies surrounding the dehumanizing of subjects since they can be grown and therefore just as easily discarded.
Also the exact purposes of cloning have been narrowed down to two basic reasons: aid to current IVF techniques and use for genetic selection or eugenics purposes. The latter has shown to be very problematic in the wrong hands thanks to some certain individuals over the course of history. But nevertheless, the technique might be useful in regards to regenerating transplant tissues or organs without ever having compromised the ethical, legal, and moral controversies that would arise from deliberately generating whole foetuses or people.