Does cloning result in a carbon copy of a living being?
Actually, an exact copy does not exist, explains Jean-Paul Renard. Cloned black-and-white cows, for example, have the same proportion of color, but their markings are not identical: therefore, we have very similar beings, having visible differences. As Pierre Tambourin emphasizes, the identity of a being cannot be reduced to its genetic makeup. There is also its psychosocial development, which is also determining. Thus, we have the example of identical twins, who when raised apart, become very different people, although their physical resemblance is striking. Furthermore, the physical resemblance must also be considered relative given that physical attitudes (and even more so, clothing styles) are acquired more than innate.* Source: Gene Caf held on May 23, 2002 in Morsang-sur-Orge, with Jean-Paul Renard, director of research in molecular biology at INRA.