Since I am majored in biology, I will mainly talk about the topic of human cloning today. Four billion years ago, life arose on the earth. Four billion years later, human beings begin to look into the secrets hidden in the genes, which are the most delicate structure of life. A little over a year ago, scientists completed the Human Genome Project, which is one of the three most important advances in scientific history. Cloning is the major technique developed in the research of genes. To clone means to make genetically identical copies.
As for human cloning, it is achieved by putting the genetic material from a donors somatic cell into a womans egg, which has already had its nucleus removed. Thats to say, the cloning cells share the same genetic materials with the donor. Actually, Scientists have long been studying animal cloning, even earlier than the birth of the sheep Dolly. But when it comes to human cloning, people begin to diverse in their opinions. Some think human cloning as the angel while the others regard it as the Satan. The proponents for human cloning are right.
Human cloning gives hope to the couples who can not have their own children. Before the invention of human cloning, they have either to get eggs or sperms from donors or adopt a child, but with human cloning, they could use their somatic cells to create a child of their own. Human cloning also gives rise to the production of stem cells. Stem cells have the ability to develop into all kinds of cells, for example, neuron cells, kidney cells or liver cells, thus stem cells can be used to culture human tissues and organs. Therefore, stem cells are essential materials for both medicine and biology. Stem cells are derived from embryos produced by human cloning.
The Term Paper on Human Cloning Cells Organs Scientists
... cells to grow into healthy brain cells (Cloning 159). Still another use is growing organs and / or tissues for humans. Cells ... This method could be used to produce stem cells, which are undifferentiated or unspecialized, capable of ... for diabetes and of growth hormones for children who do not produce enough hormones for ... whole organisms but this would be many years into the making. Many of these methods ...
However, the opponents of human cloning are also right. As a student of biology, I know clearly that one success of animal cloning is built on thousands of failures. Most of the embryos die at an early age and many of the survivals are born with serious physiological defects. Most important of all, life is a creation, not a commodity. Children are gifts to be loved and protected, not products to be designed or manufactured, not to be engineered to custom specifications. Then, human cloning with the goal to yield stem cells is not acceptable to most people, because it requires the destruction of the embryo, which is a nascent human life.
Its not ethical because it contradicts with the most fundamental principle of medical ethics, that is, no human life should be exploited or extinguished for the benefit of another. Some people also fear that permitting this kind of human cloning would eventually create a massive market for eggs, egg donors and surrogate mothers, and exploitation of womens bodies, because people who need designer tissues will need an embryonic clone of his or her own to avoid the repel against foreign tissues from the immune system. We all believe in the promise of modern medicine, but we wonder where science may take us, for we also believe in the ethical principles of science, especially in medical science, which involves the quality of human life. Our age may be known to history as the age of genetic medicine, a time when many of the most feared illnesses were overcome. Our age must also be defined by the care and restraint and responsibility with which we take up to these new scientific powers. We are not only seeking ways to improve human life, we are seeking ways to preserve human dignity as well.
The Essay on Science: Personal Life and Strong Brick Houses
It is next to impossible to detach ourselves from science. We use equipments, invented by science in our daily life; but have we ever bothered to consider how science has made everyday life more comfortable, richer and progressive? If we compare the type of houses available in the past to our forefathers with our own flats and villas and the modes of travel and communication present in the by-gone ...
Advances in biomedical technology must never come at the expense of human conscience. As we seek what is possible, we must always ask what is right, and we must not forget that even the noblest ends do not justify any means. Thus human cloning is a two-folded weapon. If guided by the ethical principles and restricted by responsibilities and sound laws, it would do much good to us human beings. People are wondering where science may take us. Scientists are wondering how to make the best out of human cloning and reduce the disadvantages of human cloning to the least.
I believe we can push the limits of medical science. I believe we can achieve great things. I truly believe that we are going to bring hope and healing to countless lives around the world with the development and progress of science. And as we do, we shall always maintain the highest of ethical standards. I hold this belief that one day, with science and the ethical standards all achieving their peaks, all the human beings will live a healthy and peaceful life..
