3 ms·

I think we are about to find out why evolution dropped cloning as a viable mechanism for reproduction.

• biotinker 4y ago
  Numerous organisms regularly reproduce via cloning, including most of the oldest and largest organisms, e.g. Pando. Bacteria, many plants, and some simpler animals primarily reproduce via cloning. Parthenogenesis is also a strategy employed as needed by fish, reptiles, and some birds. I'm not suggesting that cloning is superior, but to call it "not a viable mechanism" is a mischaracterization.
  • raarts 4y ago
    Maybe I should have added: 'for higher lifeforms'.
    • biotinker 4y ago
      How would you define "higher lifeforms" such that it does not include birds? Parthenogenesis has also been induced in mammals (mice) in a lab setting, though it has not been observed in the wild yet.
• thaumasiotes 4y ago
  The premise is false; cloning is all around you. However, bacteria have other ways of exchanging genetic material with each other, and more complex clonal organisms go extinct fairly quickly in geological time frames. But more will arise.