Why You Can't Build A Clone Army... (Yet)

Because of the way genetic reprogramming works, it’s hard to make one clone based on an adult cell, and it’s almost impossible to make a second-generation one.

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To learn more, start your googling with these keywords:
Cell: The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism.
Clone: An organism produced asexually from one ancestor, to which they are genetically identical.
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material that is present in nearly all living organisms as the main component of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.
Embryo: An unborn or unhatched offspring early in the process of development.
Enzyme: A substance produced by a living organism that acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction.
Gene: A unit of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring. These are encoded within DNA and help determine traits.
Genetic Reprogramming: This refers to erasing and remodeling epigenetic marks, such as DNA methylation during mammalian development.
Zygote: A diploid cell resulting from the fusion of two haploid gametes
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Credits (and Twitter handles):
With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Kate Yoshida, Ever Salazar, Peter Reich, Julián Gómez, Sarah Berman

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References:

[louisng]

"The non-mad kind"
That's what they want you to think.

[richardyu]

"Suppose you're a mad scientist"
"Like any good supervillain"
"Ethical problems"

[Sciencerely]

As a stem cell biologist, I can tell you that there is a lot of amazing research going on in the fields of building organs in the laboratory. Right now, we can use stem cells (which can be created from skin cells) to build so-called organoids which mimic the structure of certain parts of the body (I made a video how we do that in the lab a while ago). Especially so-called cerebral organoids are thrilling, which are also called mini-brains. They are not conscious and have been very important in identifying the zika virus as the cause of microcephaly in Brazil back some years ago!

[Jay-S]

It’s actually super easy
What you should do:
Ctrl+C
Ctrl+V

[mk_rexx]

So this is Pinky and the Brain's plan to take over the world

[adinsx]

The Clone Wars kind of addressed this. There's some exposition in some episode that after Jango Fett's death, the Kaminoans start running out of quality samples of his DNA and more and more clones end up being defects. Also, this is the explanation given why the Empire's Storm Troopers don't all have New Zealand accents in the original movies - there wasn't enough Jango to go around.

[RichBeaden]

Why can’t a just clone my army like I would a plant, cut a limb off and grow a whole new one from the cutting?

[nil]

Why rely on wasteful, inefficient, and expensive clones when I could field legions of thousands of durable, effective, and cheaply mass produced droids?

[bernardcornellisvanmeijere]

From what I remember the Clone armies of the Republic wheren't cloning clones, they where constantly cloning using the original DNA of Jango Fett....

[eggztr]

2:38 I can just imagine an army of Hammond clones spamming the "I need healing" voiceline over and over again lmao
Love this Overwatch reference

[TheScienceBiome]

Aww dammit, I was going to build the perfect clone army and then I watched this video :(

[Shadow]

Going to take over the world with my army of clone rats then!

(Skyrim, madman with Skeever army... makes so much more sense in hindsight! Just saying...)

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

We can’t but the Galactic Republic can. Palpatine is the senate, after all

[classarankyoutubeherokeyb]

Weren't star wars clones heavily modified? I swear I remember that even though Jango Fett was the base for them, they were also changed to be unflinchingly obedient and completely unfazed by danger.

[KogetsuKuzunoha]

"just like the simulations" I mean..."not like the simulations"

[chknoodle]

The rest of the world:
MinuteEarth gang: ...but clones

[karimuda]

I believe there was a scene in an episode of star wars the clone wars where the kaminoans (the people doing the cloning) said that the new clones will no longer be as good as the old ones, and that if the republic expects to fight a long war they should find a suitable doner

[pyromaniac]

I dont like many videos, but that wrecking ball joke deserves it. That was clever af, well done writers, you deserve a raise for that.

[USSAnimeNCC-]

"I am the senate"

Clone army march down Washington and playing Clone war theme in the air horns

[PhysicsPolice]

0:30 Gaaah, why is this guy yelling science at me?!