It is normal to think cloning is something out of a science fiction orb. For many years, scientists have been telling the world that it’s impossible to clone humans, but they were all wrong. The technology of cloning humans is already here, as evidenced by Dolly the sheep, but it called forth questions about the role of God in society, the soul and even the quality of life a cloned individual would have (“16 important pros and cons”). Cloning technologies can prove helpful to researchers in genetics. With the history of cloning, one difference to help in mind, with dealing with cloning, is the reproductive cloning or therapeutic cloning.
To begin with, cloning is the process of producing genetically identical individuals. Plants and animals has been a frequent
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practice for hundreds of years. The first idea of cloning was proposed by the scientist, Hans Sperman. He did an experiment to replace the nucleus of an egg cell with the nucleus of another cell to grow an embryo. His student Hilde Mangold showed that the genetic information needed for cloning is held in the nucleus of cells. Twenty years later, multiple scientists used frogs to do cloning experiments. “John Gurdon became the first person to clone an animal using SCNT, in 1958” (“A Brief History of Cloning”) However, scientists thought human cloning was impossible until the victorious cloning of the first mammal, Dolly the sheep, in 1997. The Harvard Medical School states that “Dolly was a major scientific and technological breakthrough and also raised the possibility that one day humans will be cloned” (Mojica and Gleason). During the 90’s a private company used Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer created a hybrid by using cells from humans and eggs from a cow. Years later, a human cloning company claimed that a clone baby was born in December 2002. Also, the first extinct animal from extinct species and a camel female was cloned in 2009. However, scientist hasn’t come up with anything since then. Second, while choosing to do human cloning, it is a decision whether to do reproductive or therapeutic cloning. Reproductive cloning is the production of a genetic duplicate of an existing organism. Also, it could be used for repopulating endangered species, or for the production of organisms with specific traits. The cloning of plants and humans also fall into the category of reproductive cloning. Livestock with positive traits can be cloned to produce food. “The process is performed using a technique called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer” (“Therapeutic vs. Reproductive Cloning”). All clones made through Somatic Cell Transfer are made the same way, except what is done with the cloned embryos. Although reproductive cloning has many advantages, the process does not produce genetically identical offspring because some DNA resides in the mitochondria. “If reproductive cloning is permitted to happen, and becomes accepted, it is difficult to see how any other dangerous applications of genetic engineering technology could be proscribed” (Coeytaux and Roberts). Third, while reproductive cloning can help with endangered species, therapeutic cloning can be used to treat a variety of diseases such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s.
Therapeutic cloning refers to the removal of a nucleus and its transfer by injection into an unfertilized egg from which the nucleus has been removed. Therapeutic cloning can help execute vital organs; this will be helpful for people suffering from kidney and other disorders who are forced to wait years for a replacement organ (“Pros of Therapeutic Cloning”). The therapeutic also uses the Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, but instead of copying a specific human being, no sperm fertilization is involved. “A person could use Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer to clone themselves in order to produce cells that are biologically compatible with their body, and so will not be rejected by their immune system” (“A Brief History of Cloning”).Therapeutic cloning does result in the destruction of an embryo after stem cells are extracted. Many see therapeutic cloning as unnatural or even cruel that some countries don’t allow it. Still hopeful, rejection in organ transplants is reduced because cloned organs would come from individual’s own
cells. In conclusion, human cloning was once thought of as being a joke. Before the announcement of science, cloning was seen as a figment of imagination. Today, that theory has changed with different experiments of different animals and attempts on humans. Advancements in scientific research, cloning has proved productive in therapeutic and reproductive use. From finding a possible cure to Alzheimer’s, or bringing back an endangered species of animal cloning has started a stepping stone to changing the face of science.
Therapeutic cloning is the process whereby parts of a human body are grown independently from a body from STEM cells collected from embryos for the purpose of using these parts to replace dysfunctional ones in living humans. Therapeutic Cloning is an important contemporary issue as the technology required to conduct Therapeutic Cloning is coming, with cloning having been successfully conducted on Dolly the sheep. This process is controversial as in the process of collecting STEM cells from an embryo, the embryo will be killed. Many groups, institutions and religions see this as completely unacceptable, as they see the embryo as a human life. Whereas other groups believe that this is acceptable as they do not believe that the embryo is a human life, as well as the fact that this process will greatly benefit a large number of people. In this essay I will compare the view of Christianity who are against Therapeutic Cloning with Utilitarianism who are in favour of Therapeutic Cloning.
Children grow up watching movies such as Star Wars as well as Gattaca that contain the idea of cloning which usually depicts that society is on the brink of war or something awful is in the midsts but, with todays technology the sci-fi nature of cloning is actually possible. The science of cloning obligates the scientific community to boil the subject down into the basic category of morality pertaining towards cloning both humans as well as animals. While therapeutic cloning does have its moral disagreements towards the use of using the stem cells of humans to medically benefit those with “incomplete” sets of DNA, the benefits of therapeutic cloning outweigh the disagreements indubitably due to the fact that it extends the quality of life for humans.
Cloning has been in nature for thousands of years, a clone is a living thing made from another consisting of the same DNA. For example identical twins are clones because they have the same DNA but the differ because the twins begin after conception when a zygote, a totipotent stem cell, divides into two, some plants self-pollinate and produce a seed, which in turn, makes plants with the same genetic code (Hyde). According to the Human Genome Project there are three types of cloning, DNA, therapeutic and reproductive; DNA cloning involves transferring DNA from a donor to another organism, therapeutic cloning, known as embryo cloning, involves harvesting stem cells from human embryos to grow new organs for transplant, and last is reproductive cloning which creates a copy of the host (Conger). One of the earliest cloned animals was a sea urchin by Hans Dreisch in the late 1800’s. Unlike Victor Frankenstein, Dreisch’s goal was to prove that genetic material is not lost in cell division, not to create another being, (History of Cloning) stated by Frankenstein “that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet.” There are many ways an animal...
Long after Shelley wrote her classic masterpiece Frankenstein and Huxley wrote Brave New World, the ethical controversy of cloning conflicts with modern artificial intelligence research. The question that challenges the idea of negative or positive behavior in a replicated machine relies on its similarity to the source of the clone, whether it emulates human behavior or acts as a “superintelligence” with supernatural characteristics void of human error. Humanity will not know the absolute answers concerning behavioral outcome without creating a physical being, an idea portrayed in Shelley’s Frankenstein in which the creation of a monster emulates from his creator’s attempts to generate life. At the time of the novel’s publication, the idea of replicating a soul portrayed a nightmarish theme with little consideration for the potential scientific advancements to facilitate in reality. It lead the genetic idea of manmade intelligence and its ethics emerging from the relativity of space, time, and original life on the planet. The debate of the existing possibility of sentient machines continues to progress, but the consideration of ethical questions such as “Should we create these artificial people?” and “How does this enactment define the soul and mind?” warranted from primitive questions about machine learning within the last century. After the initial proof of possibility for sentient machines, the perfection of cloning will generate “good” behavior at its perfect state several generations from now. The perfect machine portrays the potential for sensible human behaviors including compassion, mentality, empathy, alertness, and love. Humanity of the twenty-first century possesses the knowledge to fantasize the idea of artificial ...
In the past, cloning always seemed like a faraway scientific fantasy that could never really happen, but sometimes reality catches up to human ingenuity and people discover that a fictional science is all too real. Such was the fate of cloning when Dolly, a cloned sheep, came into existence during 1997, as Beth Baker explains (Baker 45). In addition to opening the eyes of millions of people, the breakthrough raised many questions about the morality of cloning humans. The greatest moral question is, when considering the pros against the cons, if human cloning is an ethical practice. There are two different types of cloning and both entail completely different processes and both are completely justifiable at the end of the day.
Cloning is a recent innovative technique the National Institute of Health defines as a process employed to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity. Depending on the purpose for the clone, human health or even human life can be improved or designed respectively. “Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is the most common cloning technique. SCNT involves putting the nucleus of a body cell into an egg from which the nucleus has been removed."^1 From this technique, an embryonic cell is activated to produce an animal that is genetically identical to the donor. Today, human cloning still remains as a vision, but because of the success of Dolly, the lamb, researchers are becoming more confident in the ability to produce a genuine
Cloning is, and always has been an extremely contentious topic. To some, the ethical complications surrounding it, are far more promiscuous than what scientists and medical experts currently acknowledge. Cloning is a general term that refers to the process in which an organism, or discrete cells and genes, undergo genetic duplication, in order to produce an identical copy of the original biological matter. There are two main types of artificial cloning; reproductive and therapeutic, both of which present their respective benefits and constraints. This essay aims to discuss the various differences between the two processes, as well as the ethical issues associated with it.
Many people say that everyone in the world has a twin. Today, science and technology has the ability to make this myth reality through the process of cloning. I am strongly against cloning for many reasons. People should not utilize cloning because it would destroy individuality and uniqueness, cause overpopulation, animal cruelty, it is against morals and ethics, and it violates many religious beliefs.
“Cloning represents a very clear, powerful, and immediate example in which we are in danger of turning procreation into manufacture.” (Kass) The concept of cloning continues to evoke debate, raising extensive ethical and moral controversy. As humans delve into the fields of science and technology, cloning, although once considered infeasible, could now become a reality. Although many see this advancement as the perfect solution to our modern dilemmas, from offering a potential cure for cancer, AIDS, and other irremediable diseases, its effects are easily forgotten. Cloning, especially when concerning humans, is not the direction we must pursue in enhancing our lives. It is impossible for us to predict its effects, it exhausts monetary funds, and it harshly abases humanity.
The first cloned mammal was created in 1997 by by Scottish scientists, the clone was a sheep named Dolly, after this happened cloning was first seriously discussed if it should be allowed, I think it should and here is why. One type of cloning is Therapeutic cloning which is used to create stem cells rather than a living clone. According to the author “When introduced into a damaged heart, they become healthy heart cells,” (Farrell). Now with this said this type of cloning can help more than harm because it can create stem cells which can become any type of cell needed. For example if you had damaged lung cells the stem cells from this cloning could replace the damaged ones make you more healthy. But this is not the only type of cloning out
Cloning is a process by which genetically equal organisms are created with the same DNA. In simplest terms, clones are like twins born at different times. This procedure poses various dangers to society and humankind. One of the greatest threats this procedure creates is among
In recent years, the development of cloning technology in non-human species has led to new ways of producing medicine and improving our understanding of development and genetics. But what exactly is human reproductive cloning and how has this technology been developed? The term “cloning” refers more specifically to a process known as somatic cell nuclear transfer. In this process, the DNA from the cell of ...
Recent discoveries involving cloning have sparked ideas of cloning an entire human body (ProQuest Staff). Cloning is “the production of an organism with genetic material identical to that of another organism” (Seidel). Therapeutic cloning is used to repair the body when something isn’t working right, and it involves the production of new cells from a somatic cell (Aldridge). Reproductive cloning involves letting a created embryo develop without interference (Aldridge). Stem cells, if isolated, will continue to divide infinitely (Belval 6). Thoughts of cloning date back to the beginning of the twentieth century (ProQuest Staff). In 1938, a man decided that something more complex than a salamander should be cloned (ProQuest Staff). A sheep named Dolly was cloned from an udder cell in 1997, and this proved that human cloning may be possible (Aldridge). In 1998, two separate organizations decl...
The Benefits of Human Cloning In recent years, many new breakthroughs in the areas of science and technology have been discovered. A lot of these discoveries have been beneficial to the scientific community and to the people of the world. One of the newest breakthroughs is the ability to clone. Ever since Ian Wilmut and his co-workers completed the successful cloning of an adult sheep named Dolly, there has been an ongoing debate on whether it is right or wrong to continue the research of cloning (Burley).
Cloning is asexual reproduction. Cuttings are taken from a mother plant in vegatative growth, and rooted in hydroponic medium to be grown as a separate plant. The offspring will be plants that are identical to the parent plant.