With the final exam period taking place from Dec. 7 to Dec. 21 and the Winter semester rapidly approaching, the McGill administration has been sending emails to students and faculty outlining ongoing and changing COVID-19 safety procedures. The administration plans to host in-person exams and allow approximately 90 per cent of classes to be delivered in-person next term. Many, however, have become more concerned since the recent discovery of the Omicron variant in Canada on Nov. 29. The McGill Tribune looked into what students can expect for the upcoming exam season and semester.
What COVID-19 safety measures are in place for students taking in-person exams?
Each exam room will be set up to allow for adequate air circulation. McGill has measured the CO2 levels in its buildings and implemented measures to maximize fresh air circulation accordingly. Procedural face masks will continue to be mandated, and fresh masks and hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance of each exam room. The administration recommends that students change their procedural mask every four hours. In the event of an exposure, those wearing the same mask for more than four hours are considered medium- to high-risk contacts, and will be required to get a COVID-19 test.
Academic accommodations for COVID-19-related issues will continue to be offered throughout the exam period. Considerations to compensate for missed exams will be made for any students who test positive for COVID-19 or are required to isolate due to a public health directive, potential exposure, or the instruction of a healthcare professional. The form can be found under the ‘personal’ tab on Minerva.
How has the university responded to the emergence of the Omicron variant?
According to McGill media relations officer Frédérique Mazerolle, the COVID-19 situation is being monitored closely, and so far there have been no changes in procedure for either the exam season or Winter semester.
“The university has contingency plans and will put in place additional measures if warranted, based on public health guidelines and factual information,” Mazerolle wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “Unless epidemiological conditions change very significantly in Montreal,final exams will continue to be delivered in the format as described in the course outline.”
By means of a university-wide email, the administration also asked students to reconsider international travel to avoid being stranded in light of changing travel restrictions in Canada and abroad.
How will classes look during the Winter 2022 semester?
Courses with less than 200 students enrolled—which account for approximately 90 per cent of all classes—are expected to take place in person next semester, though some of these courses may still have a hybrid component. Just like the Fall 2021 term, if a course is being delivered remotely, it will have no room assignment on Minerva. The 200-person limit does not apply to research laboratories, which will be back to full operation.
The Academic Accommodation Policy offered throughout the Fall 2021 term will continue to be offered in Winter 2022 to accommodate students that miss classes, deadlines, and/or assignments for COVID-19-related reasons. For the upcoming term, instructors have been encouraged to include modes of remote participation for in-person classes, and to offer leniency for assignment due dates.
Will the rapid tests for asymptomatic students at Trottier continue to be offered next semester?
According to a Dec. 2 email sent out by Associate Provost Chris Buddle and Deputy Provost Fabrice Labreau, the rapid testing centre in the Trottier building for asymptomatic individuals will continue into the winter semester. Having found 64 positive asymptomatic cases out of 1,350 tests administered, the university considers the testing initiative a useful tool in preventing outbreaks on campus. There are plans to expand the testing options offered, with further information to come.
2012 was a simpler time: As conspiracy-theorists announced the approach of the world’s end, Taylor Swift was easing into pop music with catchy breakup songs. Nine years later, she has re-recorded her chart-topping album Red, adding 10 new songs (from the vault) that blend with the original album’s mix of colorful bops and somber songs. Featuring Phoebe Bridgers, Chris Stapleton, and more, Red (Taylor’s Version) confidentlynavigates toxic relationships, heartbreak, and the joys of getting older.
An Evening with Silk Sonicby Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic, and Bruno Mars
An Evening with Silk Sonic is as smooth as liquid gold. Easy to listen to for even the most unfamiliar listener, every second of this 30-minute record is jam-packed with funky guitar glissandos and ever-present R&B vocals. An Evening with Silk Sonic doesn’t hold any grand aspirations. It’s not trying to change music as we know it forever; it’s simply a good time.
30 by Adele
November 2021 was the official month for “sad girl autumn,” established in major part by Adele’s new album, 30. The highly anticipated work was the singer’s first release since 2016’s 25—and her signature powerhouse vocals and wistful lyricisms undeniably surpass all expectations. With standout songs like “I Drink Wine” and “Can I Get It,” 30 is an intense emotional collage that bridges themes of heartbreak, motherhood, and reinvention. Whether you’re 30 or 13, the album is an unforgettable insight into Adele’s creative ingenuity.
Solar Power by Lorde
After a four-year hiatus, Lorde’s third studio album does not disappoint. Solar Power combines the artist’s brilliant lyricism with innovative acoustic sounds inspired by early-2000s soft rock. The resulting album is a candid ode to the power of nature, filled with Y2K references that add a slight dose of melancholia. Released in early August of this year, Solar Power was the perfect conclusion to the summer. But its appeal has extended beyond sunny weather, and its joyful beats will definitely be played during the dull winter days to come.
SONGS
“MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” by Lil Nas X
Since his debut in the mainstream scene in 2019, the internet can’t get enough of Lil Nas X. The release of “Montero (Call me by your name)” came at the perfect moment: During a time of universal misery amid the COVID-19 pandemic Lil Nas X’s catchy beats were what we didn’t know we needed. The song took the world by storm, becoming certified platinum in the fU.S. just a couple weeks after its release. For the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, the song was like a breath of fresh air—it was truly refreshing to see the rapper embrace his queer identity so authentically and unapologetically.
“Driver’s License” by Olivia Rodrigo
Taking a page out of Taylor Swift’s book, Rodrigo began her career with a song about heartbreak. But what sets “Driver’s License” apart is its brutal honesty. Rodrigo paints a vivid image of how her driver’s license, a sign of flourishing adulthood and widening horizons, became the vehicle for a metaphor about mourning a failed relationship. Rodrigo’s candor is why “Driver’s License” is the hit of the season. Well, that and its killer melody.
“All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift’s 10-minute re-recording of a nearly 10-year-old song is a perfect example of her lyrical and musical genius. In this emotional ballad, Swift reflects on her naivety in past relationships, notably alluding to her former relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. Melodically swelling as she begins to recognize the red flags, “All Too Well” is a cathartic break-up anthem that is the ultimate musical remedy for your toxic breakup blues.
“Off The Grid” by Kanye West
Kanye West, Playboi Carti, and Fivio Foreign team up for a hard-hitting assertion of pride about how far they’ve come while still giving their thanks to higher powers. Over a drum-heavy drill beat, Carti’s adlibs, Fivio’s verse, and Ye’s chorus collide for one of 2021’s best songs of the year. If Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red/ wasn’t a hard enough collaboration between Playboi Carti and Kanye West, “Off The Grid” fills in for whatever was missing.
FILMS
Dune
(radio-canada.ca)
This film proved that a runtime of 155 minutes can still feel like a tease. Adapted from Frank Herbert’s iconic novel, Dune was a massive highlight of cinema this year. Dune follows the noble House Atreides as they assume control of the planet Arrakis and its production of spice, a precious resource. While the family deals with threats to their acquired power, teenage heir Paul (Timothee Chalamet) grapples with visions of a complicated future. With powerful performances, gorgeous cinematography, and an intense score, Dune is a must-see for those patient enough to sit through it.
Spencer
(imdb.com)
Christmas with the British royals isn’t all fun hats and extravagant dishes. Directed by Pablo Larraín, Spencer is a fictitious retelling of the tenuous marriage between Diana, Princess of Wales (Kristen Stewart) and the infidelious Charles, Prince of Wales (Jack Farthing). As she navigates intrusive journalists, rude in-laws, and dinner-party politics, Diana struggles to find her footing. Lush scenery and a powerful performance by Stewart make the viewer forget they’re watching a made-up flick about a family of imperialist one-percenters.
The Suicide Squad
(empire.com)
The fact that The Suicide Squad has an actually coherent storyline already places it a cut above its predecessor—but it doesn’t stop there. The newest James Gunn flick has visually-scrumptious special effects, a soundtrack you’ll be humming for days, and an ensemble that would make Tarantino drool. There is the upbeat yet unpredictable Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), the brooding Bloodspot (Idris Elba), and John Cena as…well, John Cena. But it’s really King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone) who steals the show.
No Time to Die
(cnn.com)
Daniel Craig is back for his fifth and final performance as James Bond in No Time to Die. The film has all of the exciting explosions and fight scenes that we expect in a 007 film, yet it also manages to tie up the loose ends in Craig’s collection of the Bond franchise. One standout new character is Paloma (Ana de Armas), a girlboss CIA agent who matches Bond in charm and intelligence. And for the first time ever, rejecting this hero’s previous standards of toxic masculinity, James Bond shows emotions and vulnerability.
TV SHOWS
Sex Education
(netflixlife.com)
Not many shows can claim to be as representative and authentic as Netflix’s Sex Education, which has gotten better and better with each passing season. The third season centres on Moordale Secondary School’s new principal and her more conservative approach to education. With the new addition of gendered uniforms and abstinence-heavy sex education classes, Otis (Asa Butterfield) and his friends are faced with new challenges in exploring their sexuality and gender identity. This season does a focussed job exploring the dangers of oppressive mindsets on teenagers without straying from its humorous tone.
Squid Game
(theeconomist.com)
What is there to say about the biggest show of the year except that it’s utterly enthralling? Squid Game takes place in a world where people in severe debt are invited to participate in deadly children’s games for a chance to win a large fortune—and a second chance at a better life. The heart of the show is its characters, each so compelling yet pitiable, and in some cases detestable; their humanness is why it’s so easy to connect with them.
WandaVision
(IndieWire.com)
Marvel Studios kicked off its television endeavours on Disney+ with one of its most unique and innovative story arcs. Starring Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), WandaVision follows the married couple through a progression of sitcom styles and stories as they try to piece together their past, present, and future. With striking new theme songs, cinematography, and costuming in each passing episode, WandaVision is a must-see for Marvel fans.
The White Lotus
(npr.org)
HBO’s The White Lotus, written and directed by Mike White, is a blueprint of how not to act on vacation. Two entitled families and a hysterical Jennifer Coolidge manage to antagonize every staff member working at the White Lotus, a luxury Hawaiian resort. The staff, in return, have fun taking revenge by stealing the guests’ drugs and sabotaging romantic date nights, creating a satirical comedy meant to make the viewers uncomfortable.
WORST:
Song: “Obsessed” by Addison Rae
The debut single by TikToker and internet personality Addison Rae is just as perplexing and disappointing as her entire career. While Rae most likely intended to release a dance-pop anthem about self-love and empowerment, the actual song sounds vacuous and conceited. Given her rising stardom, it’s okay for Rae to obsess over herself. But don’t expect general audiences to obsess over this painful waste of 134 seconds.
2. Album: = by Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran’s transformation from soft acoustic country boy to possessive synth-pop star is complete in his newest album, simply titled =. Sheeran’s lack of creativity in sticking to math symbols is emblematic of this creative endeavor in its entirety. As this album is titled after a finalizing symbol, hopefully it is Sheeran’s final album.
3. Film: Space Jam: A New Legacy
(BBC.com)
Playing on nostalgia for an easy cash-grab has been a recurring trend in Hollywood for a few years now. If you grew up in the late ‘90s, you most likely remember the iconic movie Space Jam, in which basketball superstar Michael Jordan befriends beloved Looney Tunes characters. The 2021 sequel, unfortunately, is nothing like the original. It’s not much more than two hours replete with tactless product placements, flat jokes, and unnecessary social media references.
4. TV Show: Pretty Smart
(eonline.com)
Pretty Smart, the latest Netflix sitcom, is about as appealing as the leftover grey slush at the bottom of an Ice Capp. From the title alone, it’s clear that the producers at least have a firm grasp of irony. The series follows Chelsea (Emily Osment), a self-proclaimed brainiac, as she’s forced to live with her sister and her “eccentric” friends. Little to say, the premise is not very inspiring—but don’t worry, nothing else about the show is either. If this gets picked up for a second season, I’m selling all my lively possessions and abandoning human society to live among the Cloudberries.
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD) convened on Dec. 2 for their penultimate meeting of the semester to address several motions. One included the re-introduction of the motion to ratify the SSMU Judicial Board’s (J-Board) final judgment on Students in Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill (SPHR) v. SSMU. The other up for ratification was the motion calling for the resignation of the SSMU president.
SPHR initially requested that the SSMU Legislative Council issue a joint statement acknowledging Nakba Day on May 15, 2021. The request, approved in a confidential session at the Legislative Council on May 13, was ultimately denied by the BoD in a confidential discussion on May 27. SPHR submitted a petition to the J-Board to challenge the validity of this vote. The J-Board ruling called on the BoD to provide a written summary of the discussion that led them to deny SPHR’s request.
In an updated ruling by the J-Board, it was declared that the BoD adhered to the SSMU constitution in voting against the Nakba Day motion during a confidential session. The ratification of J-Board’s final judgment between the two organizations passed with unanimous approval from the Board. “It seems, as a final judgement […] that our position was correct,” Éric Sader, SSMU vice-president (VP) Finance said. “Not passing the previous motion in the way that it was done was completely constitutional, and as such [it] stands that there was no mistake on behalf of the Board of Directors.”
Discussions then shifted to the motion approved by the SSMU Legislative council on Nov. 25 that called for the resignation of SSMU president Darshan Daryanani amid his continued absence from Legislative Council sessions and Executive Committee meetings. The BoD unanimously rejected the motion. Had it been approved, the motion would have required Daryanani to submit a letter of resignation within 48 hours of the motion’s ratification, with a failure to do so resulting in the Council calling on the BoD to initiate a special General Assembly at the outset of the Winter 2022 semester.
During the debate session that followed, VP External Sacha Delouvrier urged the BoD not to ratify the resignation motion, arguing that it makes assumptions about the reasons for the president’s absence, which remain confidential. Delouvrier suggested that Daryanani’s case constitutes an HR issue, which should not be discussed in a public forum.
“If the board wishes to, at a separate time, move a motion to present to a special general assembly member of the executive, that’s a different story,” Delouvrier said. “I sincerely don’t believe we should go around HR matters in such a way which is why I would urge every voting director present to take a stand opposing [the motion].”
Legislative Council representative Nathaniel Saad argued Sader and Delouvrier could have raised their concerns regarding the motion at the Nov. 25 Legislative Council meeting, a meeting that they both attended.
“As I remember, clearly they did abstain instead of bringing forward […] potential amendments or a discussion that could have been had then, so I’m […] a little confused as to why they would rather just shoot it down here.”
Sader stated he did not participate in the discussion as his responsibility as an executive on Legislative Council differs from his role as a director on the BoD.
Following a confidential discussion period, the BoD unanimously voted to postpone the motion indefinitely.
Moment of the Meeting:
VP Student Life Karla Heisele Cubilla argued there is no need for SSMU to hire a VP Operations at this time, despite the position being vacant since 2017.
Soundbite:
“Ratifying this motion wouldn’t necessarily say that the board thinks the president has been delinquent in his duties, but rather that the Legislative Council does. [It would acknowledge] the actions that they have done in passing this motion, and by extension the will of the student body.”
—Council representative Nathaniel Saad on why he believes the BoD should ratify the motion regarding the absence of the SSMU president.
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Legislative Council representative Yara Coussa argued there is no need for SSMU to hire a VP operations at this time. In fact, Yara Coussa is a Director on the BoD, and it was VP Student Life Karla Heisele Cubilla who argued there is no need for SSMU to hire a VP operations at this time. The Tribune regrets this error.
Kristi Kouchakji inherited a fraught portfolio––the Secretary-General position was vacant for a period of transition for the better part of last academic year, leaving Kouchakji with lots to catch up on. One of her objectives was to change the workplace culture within the Society by hiring more contractors, encouraging a healthy work-life balance for executives and commissioners, and asking executives to track their hours worked in order to evaluate whether the workload is sustainable. While ongoing, this project appears to be successful thus far. This term, she has also been supporting the BIPOC Grad Network Coordinator and working to increase Society engagement. Recently, she released the PGSS statement on academic freedom––though the full extent of her current undertakings are too lengthy to discuss in full here. Overall, Kouchakji shows a clear desire to reinvigorate her portfolio, and her work so far has been very promising.
Babatunde Alli, External Affairs Officer
Babatunde Alli, who also served in his position last year, aimed to establish stronger ties with other student associations in Montreal and across Canada. This year’s initiatives included communicating closely with the Quebec Student Union (QSU)—attending the QSU caucus and organized one-on-one meetings with the QSU officers to discuss PGSS interests. Alli also worked with other Montreal student associations to reaffirm and add to the demands of the Coalition régionale étudiante de Montréal (CREM) municipal election platform. The platform calls for affordable non-profit student housing, reduced BIXI fares for students, and more. Although PGSS joined CREM in 2017, there has yet to be any progress with Montreal fulfilling their demands. He plans to continue following up with the municipal council to push those demands forward. Alli has also been working to start a federal coalition of Canadian graduate student associations, with their first drafted Memorandum of Understanding being considered at the PGSS executive level.
Adel Ahmadihosseini, Internal Affairs Officer
In his first term as Internal Affairs Officer, Adel Ahmadihosseini’s main goal was to make the transition from virtual to in-person events safe, accessible, and inclusive. PGSS Orientation week offered students a mix of information and social events, and throughout the semester, Ahmadihosseini has successfully coordinated multiple events with hybrid formats, most of which saw high attendance numbers. He has facilitated several initiatives including weekly international language café meetings, various day-trips to national parks, and academic-related workshops. While Ahmadihosseini has delivered many successful social events, he can improve on facilitating events that address pertinent issues graduate students face, such as mental health. Ahmadihosseini is currently working on Winter orientation, Thomson Cup, and events that build community among the different post-graduate departmental student associations.
Dakota Rogers, Member Services Officer
Dakota Rogers was responsible for ensuring the successful rollout of the projects such as Keep.meSAFE, a mental health service at McGill accessible to all students, established as a collaboration between the student societies, and Dialogue, a virtual healthcare platform introduced to address the challenges of accessing health care in Montreal and Canada. The Legal Protection Plan was also put into action to facilitate easier access to lawyers and legal advice for PGSS members. Rogers has also been involved in a handful of other initiatives, including establishing a SSMU daycare fee, ensuring the needs of students are being met after recent changes to the PGSS Health and Dental Insurance Plan, reopening Thomson House according to COVID-19 protocols, and continuing the ongoing Thomson House wheelchair accessibility renovations that are now in McGill’s renovation queue. This year, Rogers successfully achieved his goal of ensuring the rollout of the projects he was involved in and made significant progress on other important initiatives.
Sophie Osiecki, Financial Affairs Officer
Sophie Osiecki’s main focus this semester has been supporting the PGSS needs-based bursary. In collaboration with the Member Services Officer, Osiecki also put a stop to the fee collection for the legal support fund—a fund which has been collecting $1 per student per term—but that according to Osiecki, is rarely if ever used. The fee will stop being collected as of September 2022. Although the question of how to redistribute the fund’s accrued $125,000 is ultimately up to the vote of the PGSS Council, Osiecki hopes to push for part of it to be injected into the needs-based bursary endowment. Osiecki will also spearhead the Seeds of Change initiative next term, a fundraising event that supports the bursary fund. Another project that Osiecki hopes to wrap up before March is passing a motion through the council that would put part of Travel Awards money toward carbon offsets. Sophie Osiecki has made good progress as the Financial Affairs Officer this year, and hopefully all of her projects slated for next semester come to fruition.
Hossein Poorhemati, University Affairs Officer
The role of the University Affairs (UA) Officer is to represent the interests of graduate students to the McGill administration. This semester, Hossein Poorhemati prioritized a smooth transition back to in-person learning by keeping an open line of communication with graduate students through weekly Zoom office hours and regular meetings with the administration. Another aspect of the UA portfolio is recruitment within PGSS, which Poorhemati has helped improve this semester by ensuring adequate volunteer recruitment and holding monthly meetings to keep track of unfilled positions. Additionally, Poorhemati has had a strong commitment to equity initiatives, notably advocating for international students facing financial barriers to research. He also hopes to develop an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion 101 course that would be mandatory for all students and staff. Poorhemati chaired the PGSS Library Improvement Fund Committee and helped develop a list of recommendations to address the needs of graduate students. Next semester, Poorhemati hopes to continue increasing student involvement in PGSS and to work on improving the work-life balance for his constituents.
A previous version of this article incorrectly spelt Babatunde Alli’s name as “Babatunde Ali.” The Tribune regrets this error.
Upon entering my go-to cafe last week, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia. Christmas music was playing and a familiar thought crept back into my mind: Christmas has not felt like Christmas to me for a while now. When familiar tunes about reindeers and Santa Claus chime from every corner, along with the incessant flashing of red, white, and green lights, I cannot help but feel nostalgic. Before I can push the thought away, I am always left wondering why the so-called Christmas “magic” is lost on me. What was it that made Christmas “feel like Christmas” in the first place?
Before the age of nine, my Christmas had religious affiliations. My parents always explained that it was Jesus’ birthday and somehow that meant we gave gifts to each other. The religious customs never stuck with me and although I observed them out of respect, they were no longer part of my Christmas experience as I grew older. What my adolescent self did latch onto was the loud, wild affair of family and relatives piling into our house to eat, drink, play games, and throw money at each other.
After I turned nine, my family moved away and though our Christmas gatherings were smaller, they were no less enjoyable. I attributed a lot of my excitement to the build-up to Christmas. There was something about scrolling through TV channels and only seeing Home Alone or Christmas specials that just made the time of year so comfortable and thrilling. Unlike Halloween, where you would not want to be any of the characters stuck in their timeline of horror, the holiday films were full of joy. I would have loved to be Danny Devito attempting to deck my house in lights so that it can be seen from space.
Now, in my 20s, I do not have the same kind of enthralled attachment to Christmas. I do not feel the same sense of anticipation. Honestly, I struggle to find what Christmas means to me now; I do not go to church, I do not have the same family traditions, and this year I will not even make it home for Christmas. I would not exactly say I have “outgrown” it––I simply do not enjoy it the way my nine-year-old self did. Maybe I never will again. But this does not have to be a bad thing, and I feel comforted that after many conversations with my friends, I know I am not the only one feeling this way.
It goes without saying, Christmas is a largely observed holiday and is practiced differently by many different people. I see it as a clear marker of time passing—like a second birthday. As we get older, we become more nostalgic each passing year and for some of us, this is amplified during the holiday season. Nostalgia is odd in the way that it can either be good or bad. Great memories make you thankful that you had them, but there is also sadness in knowing you will not have them again. The feelings that you had in that moment can never be recreated in the exact same way, and although it can be bittersweet, nostalgia is something that will always come and go—it cannot be avoided. As long as time keeps moving forward, Christmas will always come around to remind me of a time I cannot go back to.
So, even if I cannot replicate the Christmas celebrations of my childhood, nostalgia ensures that my experiences were fulfilling enough that I both remember and miss them. I do not exactly aspire to “make something out of Christmas again.” Simply knowing that I did love it at a time in my life is enough for me.
The scientific tool of cloning, which allows humans to duplicate organisms, has soared since the birth of first-ever mammalian clone Dolly the sheep. But how has this now commonplace discipline evolved, and where might it head in the future? Scientists must continue to grapple with the ethics of such a sensitive subject, especially considering cloning’s growing potential as a commercial endeavour.
In essence, to clone an organism, scientists take the desired genomic material from a somatic cell and insert it into an enucleated oocyte—or a female sex cell whose nucleus has been removed—in a process called somatic cell nuclear transferase (SCNT).
“This is the fundamental principle of cloning from somatic cells,” Vilceu Bordignon, an associate professor within McGill’s animal science department, in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “It has to go back to the cytoplasm of the oocyte.”
Despite the variety of highly technical methods available, such as powerful microscopes, stereoscopes, or even “handmade cloning,” Bordignon points out that one of the most complex parts of the cloning process is related to the oocyte itself.
“The protocols for using in vitro[are] not as good in vivo because there is a part of the development that is made in oocytes that we still don’t know what it needs, and what the oocyte stores into the cytoplasm,” Bordignon said.
For this reason, Bordignon mentioned that even if scientists select the best candidate for an oocyte, the cell could still be missing some key components that are essential for controlling development.
“The real factors affecting these reprogramming efficiencies are epigenetic factors,” Bordignon said. Epigenetics is the study of how the environment influences gene expression without altering the DNA sequence. “For example, one of the experiments we’ve done is produce 25 piglets from the same cell culture, so […] theoretically, they are identical twins, but if you look at them, just at the difference in the size and the difference in the viability, you reasonably understand that just having the same genome sequences is not enough to make an identical animal.”
Though many epigenetic mechanisms are poorly understood, Bordignon remains hopeful about the prospects of applying scientific knowledge to improve the efficiency of cloning.
“The message is simple. The more we understand how the cell differentiates, which pathways [it] controls, and how they restrict the functions to become specialized, the more we can understand how to act on those pathways to bring them back to an embryonic state,” Bordignon explained.
Similar protocols for cloning have been applied in other fields, like plant science. Though the ancient use of clonal propagation in plants—taking branches or pieces of a plant to regrow the species as its own organism—replaces the direct need for SCNT, the science of cloning and epigenetics can help create transgenic plants, which have a variety of applications.
Jean-Benoit Charron, an associate professor in the Department of Plant Science at McGill, explained that, similar to cloning processes conducted in animals, scientists must use undifferentiated cells—grouped in a mass called a callus—to effectively create a plant with an altered genome that can be passed down to future offspring.
“The oocyte is reproductive tissue […] that can allow the genetic information to pass to the next generation,” Charron said in an interview with the Tribune. “With plants, we do exactly the same thing. If you just [alter] a leaf, you will […] transform that leaf for the time that it is alive. The callus [is] a tissue that has the possibility of transferring the genetic information that you are adding to the next generation. The overall strategy I would say is identical.”
Applications of these laboratory processes are simultaneously expanding, especially in the domain of transgenic crops.
“The first wave of transgenic produce that were put on the market was mostly to […] help the grower achieve a higher yield at a reduced cost,” Charron said. “So now we’re seeing a wave […] where we are trying to improve the nutritional value of all of the products and all the produce, or to limit the losses due to pathogens. And to do this, […] they take a wild variety that resists well to a virus or pathogen, they identify the gene responsible for that, and they transfer this gene into [another variety].”
While Charron says that transgenic crops would still take a couple of years to produce, when it comes to improving crop yield and resilience, the applications are endless. However, such tools can lead to unintended negative consequences when used to attack one specific problem
“A transgenic plant producing an insecticide that kills insects reducing the yield of the crop […] was mostly to reduce the production cost,” Charron said. “This worked so well that it created a lot of monoculture, so people started to depend a lot on this.”
Though transgenic crops have already been integrated into industrial farming, the use of cloning has not been similarly implemented, likely due to the continuing ethical debate surrounding it. Among its prospective uses, though, is the creation of superior livestock for meat and the potential to rescue endangered species.
“Breeding is just a way to reprogram the genome and produce the next generation, and we can achieve that by cloning as well. Should we or should we not clone for production perspectives?” Bordignon asked.
Bordignon went on to say that when the FDA compared the alimentary products of cloned animals to regularly farmed ones, they did not find any significant difference in nutritional value. Charron says that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) present in crops are also unfairly stigmatized despite the DNA alteration being so minuscule.
“Instead of a big chunk of the chromosomes being transferred, here we are transferring only a thousand base pairs,” Charron said. “It’s surgical, almost. At the end [of the day], DNA is DNA.”
As cloning technology grows more sophisticated, different industries can apply it towards new commercial endeavours. For a considerable price, many companies now offer cloning to pet owners who wish to create a genetic twin of their cat or dog. One such company is ViaGen Pets, which extends cloning services not only to pet owners, but also to zoos and wildlife conservation groups.
“We have many clients who wish to enjoy a genetic twin to a beloved companion animal. This is an amazing opportunity if you think about it,” a spokesperson for ViaGen Pets said in an email to the Tribune. “A cloned companion animal is not the same animal, but shares many of the same traits [….] We also utilize our resources to help in the world of conservation where we work closely with […] conservation-minded groups.”
While there are certainly positives to such technology, whether we are capable of handling it responsibly remains to be seen. Evidently, cloning and similar technologies, such as those involved in the creation of transgenic plants, span a large range of practices and are considerably difficult to evaluate ethically. These questions remain unanswerable for now and require additional research and consideration before implementing cloning technologies into new contexts, whether it be in the corn fields or at the pet store.
