A clone is the name given for a group of organisms or other living matter with exactly the same genetic material. Genetic material consists of genes, which are the parts of cells that determine all characteristics of living things. It is not until recently that scientists have developed an experimental process for cloning higher animals, such as humans. This is a very technical process which involves first destroying the nucleus of an egg cell from the species to be cloned. Then a nucleus is removed from the cell of an animal of the same species and injected into the egg cell. The egg now has a new nucleus, and will develop into an animal with the same genetic makeup as the original donor. This process was successfully done as early as the 1950’s on amphibians, such as frogs. However it was not until 1996, that it was successfully completed on a mammal, a sheep, named Dolly. The question now is weather or not it is right to perform this same procedure on human stem cells.
The cloning of humans or any other animal for that matter has several positive and practical applications. One such application would be the cloning of transgenic animals (animals engineered to carry genes from other organisms, usually a species other than their own), which would allow us to produce a wide variety of proteins that could be sold as drugs. It would also allow the production of other proteins, called enzymes that could be used to speed up industrial chemical reactions. This one application could even be taken a step further. Envision the creation of genetically modified animals that could provide organs for human organ transplants. Or the mass production of faster growing and leaner livestock. Even the perpetuation of endangered species, it is all-possible with cloning.
The Essay on Cell Cloning Human Scientists People
What first comes to mind when the word cloning is used Weird sci-fi movies, mad scientists, and futuristic themes Well, the idea of cloning has been experimented on since the 1970 s with frogs and toads, and the cloning of plants hasnt been any big thing. The controversy over this issue was sparked by a miraculous event on July 5, 1996. This is the day Dolly was successfully cloned, using a method ...
Another possible use for cloning would be to clone humans. This has many foreseeable benefits such as infertile couples who do not wish to adopt, could use cloning to have children who are biologically related to them. Cloning could also be used to create children free from certain disorders, some known disorders that could be bypassed include ones that affect the eyes, brain, and muscles, these are at least partially caused by flawed genes located in the mitochondria. For a woman that does carry one of these disorders, she could conceive a child disorder free by having the nucleus of one of her body cells inserted into an enucleated egg cell from a woman who does not have anything wrong with her mitochondrial genes. The resulting embryo would then be implanted into the woman who donated the nucleus, and she would carry the baby to term.
Some common arguments in favor of cloning according to World Book encyclopedia are:
-Cloning could shed light on how genes work and lead to the discovery of new treatments for genetic diseases.
-A ban on cloning may be unconstitutional. It would deprive people of the right to reproduce and restrict the freedom of scientists.
-A clone would not really be a duplicate because environmental factors would mold him or her into a unique individual.
-A clone would have as much of a sense of individuality as do twins.
-Cloning is comparable in safety to a number of other medical procedures.
-Objections to cloning are similar to objections raised against previous scientific achievements, for example, heart transplants and test tube babies, that later came to be widely accepted.
As with all controversies there must be objections to the subject. For cloning there are many and they weigh hard against the supporting arguments, providing a truly perplexing topic. If scientists were given the authorization to clone a human, then they would certainly be faced with many of the same problems that they were when they cloned Dolly. These problems included dozens of mistakes leading to the death of several embryos, and newborns before success was finally achieved. Also if a human infant clone survived there is no guarantee that it will grow up with out later developing defects? Another ethical question is would the cloned human have a diminished sense of individuality. Due to the way that a clone is created the result may feel that they are genetically destined to have the same fate as the persons from whom their donor cells came.
The Term Paper on Cloning Human Clone
... heads exist in all cloning attempts. Any attempts to clone a human with today's technology would almost always produce a child with some sort ... ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! in the chemical sequence of a gene, which may suggest cystic fibrosis or other! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! genetic disorders. But scientists are just beginning to ...
Another question is what affect would cloning have on parenting and family life. Parents of clones could possible value their children according to how closely they met some overly detailed, preordained specification. Therefore cloning could undermine the basic elements of a loving, nurturing family, doing away with acceptance of each child as a unique individual.
Cloning could also have society wide effects. For instance, what if the world separated reproduction from love and other human relationships. Society could use cloning for eugenics (attempting to scientifically improve the human race according to arbitrary standards).
It is known that cloning can be used to selectively breed children who are healthier, more intelligent, or even designed for warfare or slavery.
Once again according to the world book encyclopedia, some arguments used against human cloning are:
-Cloning might lead to the creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes, such as warfare or slavery.
-Cloning could result in the introduction of additional defects in the human gene pool.
-Cloning is unsafe; there are too many unknown factors that could aversely affect the offspring.
-A clone might have fewer rights that other people.
-Doctors might use clones as sources for organs for organ transplants.
-Cloning is at odds with the traditional concept of family.
-Cloning is against God’s will
-Some aspects of human life should be off limits to science.
The Essay on Humans And Animals Relationships
Whether its social, business, or personal, animals play an extremely important role in the lives of humans. Humans have been using animals to survive since before 100 BC. Animals have been protectors, companions, benefactors, co-workers, and even best friends. Humans need animals in their lives to stay healthy mentally and even physically. Animals are used in everyday physical therapy to increase ...
As you can see cloning has many potentially good things to offer to society, however it has many bad or unknown factors as well. It seems that the debate is not so much over animal cloning but rather human, for we have already successfully cloned animals and seen the benefits. Humans however are different, if something did go wrong we have the most complex nervous system of any other animal, meaning we would feel the mistakes. I take no side because I am undecided, I do think that both sides offer interesting arguments, and it will be interesting to see what happens with president Bush making almost daily statements on the matter. Is cloning right or wrong? You decide.
