Cloning Humans Essay Research Paper Cloning humans

Cloning Humans Essay, Research Paper

Cloning humans has recently become a possibility that seems much more feasible

in today’s society than it was twenty years ago. It is a method that involves

the production of a group of identical cells or organisms that all derive from a

single individual (Grolier 220). It is not known when or how cloning humans

really became a possibility, but it is known that there are two possible ways

that we can clone humans. The first way involves splitting an embryo into

several halves and creating many new individuals from that embryo. The second

method of cloning a human involves taking cells from an already existing human

being and cloning them, in turn creating other individuals that are identical to

that particular person. With these two methods almost at our fingertips, we must

ask ourselves two very important questions: Can we do this, and should we? There

is no doubt that many problems involving the technological and ethical sides of

this issue will arise and will be virtually impossible to avoid, but the overall

idea of cloning humans is one that we should accept as a possible reality for

the future. Cloning presents as much a moral problem as a technical problem.

Cloning is an affront to religious sensibilities; it seems like "playing

God," and interfering with the natural process. There are, of course, more

logical objections, regarding susceptibility to disease, expense, and diversity.

Others are worried about the abuses of cloning. Cloning appears to be a powerful

force that can be exploited to produce horrendous results. Cloning may reduce

genetic variability, Producing many clones runs the risk of creating a

population that is entirely the same. This population would be susceptible to

the same diseases, and one disease could devastate the entire population. One

can easily picture humans being wiped out be a single virus, however, less

drastic, but more probable events could occur from a lack of genetic diversity.

For example, if a large percentage of an nation’s cattle are identical clones, a

virus, such as a particular strain of mad cow disease, could effect the entire

population. The result could be catastrophic food shortages in that nation.

Cloning may cause people to settle for the best existing animals, not allowing

for improvement of the species. In this way, cloning could potentially interfere

with natural evolution. Cloning is currently an expensive process. Cloning

requires large amounts of money and biological expertise. Ian Wilmut and his

associates required 277 tries before producing Dolly. A new cloning technique

has recently been developed which is far more reliable. However, even this

technique has 2-3% success rate. There is a risk of disease transfer between

transgenic animals and the animal from which the transgenes were derived. If an

animal producing drugs in its milk becomes infected by a virus, the animal may

transmit the virus to a patient using the drug. Any research into human cloning

would eventually need to be tested on human. The ability to clone humans may

lead to the genetic tailoring of offspring. The heart of the cloning debate is

concerned with the genetic manipulation of a human embryo before it begins

development. It is conceivable that scientists could alter a baby’s genetic code

to give the individual a certain color of eyes or genetic resistance to certain

diseases. This is viewed as inappropriate tampering with "Mother

Nature" by many ethicists. Because clones are derived from an existing

adult cell, it has older genes. Will the clone’s life expectancy be shorter

because of this? Despite this concern, so far, all clones have appeared to be

perfectly normal creatures. A "genetic screening test" could be used

to eliminate zygotes of a particular gender, without requiring a later abortion.

Cloning might be used to create a "perfect human," or one with above

normal strength and sub-normal intelligence, a genetic underclass. Also, if

cloning is perfected in humans, there would be no genetic need for men. Cloning

might have a detrimental effect on familial relationships. A child born from an

adult DNA cloning of his father could be considered a delayed identical twin of

one of his parents. It is unknown as to how a human might react if he or she

knew he or she was an exact duplicate of an older individual. Supporters of

cloning feel that with the careful continuation of research, the technological

benefits of cloning clearly outweigh the possible social consequences. In their

minds, final products of cloning, like farm animals, and laboratory mice will

not be the most important achievement. The applications of cloning they envision

are not nightmarish and inhumane, but will improve the overall quality of

science and life. Cloning will help to produce discoveries that will

Внимание, отключите Adblock

Вы посетили наш сайт со включенным блокировщиком рекламы!
Ссылка для скачивания станет доступной сразу после отключения Adblock!

Скачать