Leave Me A Clone
Ever since Scottish scientists cloned an adult sheep, July 1996, people have been thinking about the possibility of cloning humans. One such man has said that this possibility is soon to become a reality, his name Richard Seed. Richard Seed is a physicist who has been involved in fertility research since the 1970's. It was on the sixth of this month that Richard Seed announced that he plans to begin his human cloning operation in the next 90 days. He plans to do this by taking a fertilized human egg and removing some key cells, he will then replace these cells with the cells of the person he intends to clone. The only problem is that there are many things that may stop him from doing this. He believes that humans will eventually become one with God and that cloning is the first step to that. In March last year, United States President Bill Clinton banned all use of federal funds for research on human cloning. There has also been talk in America of a legislation to ban privately funded human cloning, unfortunately this has not fallen through and Richard Seed said that he plans to start his operation before the US Congress places such a ban. What would a clone be like? He or she would be a complete human being who happens t
. On a daily basis, molecular geneticists and other scientists use cloning techniques to replicate various genetic materials such as gene segments and cells. In light of this relatively new science, many questions come to mind. What applications are scientists developing that use cloning methods? How will those applications affect our daily lives? What are the social and ethical implications of using such techniques? These questions indicate that the subject of cloning is a significant one that needs serious discussion and debate. As scientists start to clone higher species, rewards will multiply. Already the work has begun. Scientists at the Oregon Regional Primate Center, for instance, recently created genetically identical "cloned" twin monkeys. The Oregon scientists now plan to use Wilmut's technique to clone genetically identical monkeys for the study of AIDS, depression, endocrine disorders, and heart disease. "Scientists have been anxious to have genetically identical monkeys to tease apart the nature versus nurture question," says Dr. James V. Parker, a spokesperson for the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center, located just outside of Portland. "If the animals are genetically equal, then you can just look at the environmental factors that may be causing disease." Cloning may even help unlock the secrets of aging. Dolly was cloned from a 6-year-old nucleus -- which is well into middle age for a sheep. Somehow, the aging DNA was rejuvenated and reverted to an infant stage. If we can decipher how that happened, we eventually may be able to stop or even reverse the aging process. According to gerontologist Dr. George Martin, the scientist who discovered the gene for premature aging, cloning would be a means of finding out which subsets of cells break down with age. By cloning an individual cell over and over again, we might be able to find out how it has been affected by aging. "As we gain more experience using adult cells and adult tissue, we might discover which cells are more susceptible to gene damage," says Martin, who sits on the Board of Directors for the American Federation of Aging Research. If such research results in a degree of enhanced longevity, "that would be constructive to society."
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2584
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)
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