Asexual reproduction

Plants can make identical copies (clones) of themselves. Many plants have ways of increasing their numbers by asexual reproduction – new plants are created by repeated cell division:

 A potato plant can produce many tubers, each of which can grow into a new plant.

• Strawberry plants and spider plants produce long stems with tiny plants on the end. These runners can produce several new plants from one parent.

It's fairly easy to artificially produce new plants by taking a cutting, and waiting for the cutting to develop new roots and leaves.

The stages of cloning

In 1996 the first large animal was cloned. It was called Dolly, the sheep. Many attempts had been made before the stages of cloning were properly understood. The stages include:

• Removal of diploid nucleus from…