Cloning How Far will it go

A detailed Summary of Cloning How Far will it go

Everyday people find themselves at a crossroads that requires a decision as to which path to follow. In the past few years, scientists have gained knowledge about cloning that could impact our lives for centuries to come. As a society we are at a crossroads and we will have to decide how to use this knowledge. Will we choose to increase our power over nature or will we develop a partnership? There are many benefits of cloning, but do they outweigh the possibility of losing genetic diversity, facing genetic discrimination, and the scary consequences portrayed in science fiction books like Brave New World and 1984, and movies like Gattaca and Planet of the Apes.

?Cloning is the production of a genetically identical duplicate of an organism? (Hawley 1). In a sense, many plants, algae, unicellular organisms, and even humans naturally produce identical offspring. For example, the dandelion reproduces asexually to create a copy of itself. As a species it has reached a plateau and can no longer progress. Within the human species, identical twins are essentially clones. The division of the embryo produces two embryos with the exact same genetic information. The consequence of a species only prod

Hawley, Aaron. ?Cloning.? http://members.tripod.com/~cloning/cloning.txt

Another consequence of the knowledge associated with the research of cloning is genetic discrimination. From birth to death personal genetic information could have profound effects on the lives of people. Would you like to know at birth that you have an eighty percent chance of dying at age thirty of heart disease? The ability to determine a person?s diseases would make it difficult for a person to receive health insurance. For this reason, people could be rejected from jobs because the employer doesn?t want someone with heart disease or doesn?t want to pay the high insurance costs of an unhealthy person. A new class structure would form; the diseased people and the healthy people. The idea of being predestined to a certain class is scary because it eliminates exploration, progress, and opportunity. In Brave New World, the people not only couldn?t decide their future, but they couldn?t choose what they wanted to wear or who to be friends with. Being predestined to a certain type of life is a reality today, but instead of being classified by the socioeconomic group one is born into, scientific methods would determine those who should succeed. Today, stereotyping can be overcome, whereas something as absolute as an genetic profile cannot.

On the other hand, cloning can be beneficial without having to intervene in the natural reproduction of humans. The possible benefits of cloning include improving livestock for consumption by humans, curing diseases, and producing cells and organs that are compatible with a transplant patient. Cloning could drastically improve the agricultural industry. Genetic information of livestock has already been altered so the livestock produce biological proteins that help people with diseases like diabetes and Parkinson?s. Also, it would be wonderful to cure common diseases, but do we understand the impact of curing diseases? Our population would skyrocket and new diseases would probably develop from mutations. Although, I know if I had cancer or Alzheimer?s disease I would want there to be a procedure to eliminate these diseases from my genes. Theoretically, using cloning or more specifically, genetic engineering, to eliminate diseases is similar to using vaccinations to prevent polio, chicken pox, and measles. This knowledge could also be used to develop ?nerve cells for spinal cord injuries, skin cells for burns, and bone cells for osteoporosis? (Meek). These cells are then used to replace the flawed cells. It is hard to say where to draw the line on researching these techniques. As a society, we can?t concentrate on saving the lives of a few people and forget to concern ourselves with the long term effects on the species as a whole. If we do, our hopes of improving the our lives today may end the lives of our descendants. There are many poss

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Approximate Word count = 1949
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science