| Product: |
GM and cloning |
| Date: |
04/02/08 (324 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: can help medical research, possible fertility options
Disadvantages: moral and religious arguements
Take a look in the mirror; what do you see? Somebody staring back at you; identical in every way? Can you imagine walking along the street and bumping into this character? It would certainly be an unusual encounter, I'm sure you'll agree! When we think of cloning, we often think of situations seen in films, where the body walks into a machine, and comes out doubled (or sometimes more!). Embryo cloning isn't _quite_ like that (!), and there is a lot to be considered when cloning a Human Embryo!
===How Does It Work?===
Cloning is basically creating an identical DNA copy of an embryo of an animal (or plant), in order to create something alike in genetics. Have you ever used a Petri dish in a science lesson at school where you smear some bacteria onto the gel and let mould form? Well cloning works in a similar way, but not as 'gross'! An egg cell is combined with a further cell with equal genetics to form an embryo with the same DNA. Though, nobody has allowed the development to turn into a fully-grown foetus yet, for many reasons, and stop the process during cell division.
===oOo Dolly oOo===
Dolly was a sheep...the first mammal, in fact, to be cloned. In 1997, she was 'born' in Edinburgh, Scotland, and lived on for six years, passing on in 2003. Though it has been stated that she did not die at such a young age because she was a clone, but because of a common disease caught by sheep. This 'successful' clone encouraged scientists to go on and try out more, to see what else could be done.
===Benefits of cloning Human Embryos===
Some people are for cloning, and can put forward many 'positive' issues about copying the human DNA:
_new medicines_ : The cloning of embryos could lead to the discovery of medicines to cure, or put an end to, some genetic diseases and disorders.
_fertility treatment_ : It is said that cloning could also help with fertility treatment, allowing the infertile parents to produce a child with their own DNA.
_ageing_ : A few scientists have suggested that once a person comes to the end of their life, it could be possible in the future to transfer their brain across to a clone in order for them to live a longer life, but they are not sure how this would be done yet, if at all possible.
===The Down Side===
Although there are some more positive factors about cloning human embryos, there are many issues raised against the process too.
_religion_ : Many religions may disagree with the 'tampering' with human life; it may go completely against their beliefs and consider it to be morally wrong.
_conceiving unnaturally_ : Once cloning was perfected, people may turn to this method to have a child, in order to create their ideal son or daughter, developing an unnatural birth.
_damaging embryos_ : Some people have raised the argument that an embryo is a human life, and that during testing whilst cloning, there is the possibility that it could be damaged or killed; another moral factor.
_cost_ : I cannot find an actual figure for how much it costs to clone a human embryo at one time, but I'm sure it cannot be incredibly cheap! Can we afford to mess with the DNA constantly?
===Well...===
So do I agree with Human Embryo Cloning? That's a really tough question to answer; there really is no right or wrong answer, just a mix of opinions and issues to consider. Everybody has their own views on cloning, and I can see where they are coming from with the factors they have raised, both positive and negative.
I'm quite for the idea of cloning in order to discover new medicines and possible cures for genetic diseases and illness, hopefully it could put an end to things such like Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes and Cancer, or at least create a decrease in the number. I don't think I'm fond of the idea of transferring the brain of the deceased in order for them to live on for longer, I believe that everybody has their time!
Looking at the negatives, I can see a strong argument in the religious and moral sides. Though, I suppose this would not affect everybody, so it may not be that strong a case! Cloning for infertile parents may seem like a decent thing to do, providing people who can conceive don't begin to take advantage of this method, just to develop the 'perfect child'.
Currently, I suppose we're still in the early process of cloning human embryos and most likely still have a lot to learn and discover about the whole concept. I'm sure scientists will continue to clone human embryos in the early development, stopping the process when law takes over and demands they put a halt to the whole procedure. Looking into the future, I'm going to hazard a guess that cloning will become more common, and perhaps one day, as our knowledge, as a nation, of science and embryos develop, we will look into the whole cloning method in more depth, and discover other benefits, whilst more 'cons' are conjured up too. I don't think its an issue that everybody will agree with, despite how strong the arguments may be!
*****
I wouldn't like to be cloned myself, and cannot possibly say whether I agree or disagree 100% with the issue of Cloning Human Embryos, though I think that there are strong arguments both for and against the issue. It's an interesting procedure and I'm sure it will have many surprising and unexpected outcomes, some greater than others, if scientists continue to experiment with the embryos!
© Amy 2008
Summary: Its really just a matter of personal opinion!
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