Cloning
As science and technology go full steam ahead into this, the 21st century, we must take a step back and look at all of the moral and ethical aspects of the science that we are developing. The topic raised is whether or not cloning is an acceptable development to be taken advantage of whenever technology reaches the point where cloning is an every day occurrence. In my view, the answer is yes. I will discuss some of the history of cloning and a great deal of what science will be able to do with this technology once it is better understood. There can be many great uses for this, such as organ transplants and as a means of reproduction for those who are not able to reproduce on their own. I hope that by the end of this paper, you too will agree with my point of view. Let's start by answering the first question that comes to mind; what does cloning mean? In Mosby's Medical, Nursing, & Allied Health Dictionary, cloning is defined as "a procedure for producing multiple copies of genetically identical organisms or of individual genes" (1E3C). This can mean an array of different objects. It can possibly mean cloning an entirely new organism from an older one, or perhaps just reproducing a heart or another organ. People have bee
n entertaining the concept of cloning individuals for centuries. They noticed that when you cut an earthworm in half, each half will regenerate into a new worm, but technically they will be the same genetically. As time passed, people did not lose interest in this fascinating idea of cloning a vertebrate in the same way as a worm. In the 1950s, scientists started doing a great deal of work on frogs, and they were able to produce tadpoles by use of nuclear transplantation. Hans Spemann, who was a German scientist, had first presented this idea in 1938. In nuclear transplantation, you remove the nucleus from an egg cell of an organism. Then you take the body cell of another organism of the same species and implant that in place of the egg's missing nucleus. This will create a new organism with the same genetic DNA as the organism of which the body cell was removed. In the 1960s and 1970s many more experiments were done with this procedure, and by the early 1990s scientists had been able to clone mice, cows, pigs, rabbits, and sheep (World Book). In 1996, however, scientist Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute in Scotland shocked the world when he was successfully able to produce Dolly, the now famous cloned sheep. Unfortunately, she didn't live long, as there were many obstacles in her development. Since then, there have been numerous advances in the cloning technique. Soon, they will be able to overcome the difficulties in Dolly's case, which can eventually lead to an almost endless range of possibilities (Cosh 45). With the scientific world creating new and wonderful things almost everyday, those of us who live long enough may be able to see, among other things, an end to infertility, a decrease in several genetic and non-genetic diseases, and hopefully an elimination of the wait for an organ transplant. We have a lot to gain through science, and I would certainly propose the further study of this. I would also support any politician who would lift the ban on experimenting with human cells in the cloning process, once this technolog
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jonathan Colvin, Anthony Perry, Institute Scotland, Health Dictionary, Ronald Green, , Spemann German, Japan Using, Blacksburg Virginia, United Japan, able produce, someday able, able clone, organism body cell, organism body, genetic material, nuclear transplantation, scientists able, cell organism, children biologically, scientists able clone, children biologically related, using technology,
Approximate Word count = 1389
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
