Part two of this paper will explore a dimension of genetic technology I feel is conspicuously absent from the text, cloning. The transition from the topics addressed in chapter 18 into the controversial subject of cloning, including human cloning, is a natural development of the course material and the technical, societal, legal, ethical, and social ramifications will be addressed.

Gene Therapy Successes and Setbacks - Experimental gene Therapy is a risky business. The objective is to modify a subject's actual DNA to aleviate symptoms or cure disease completely. There is no certain method to deliver the genes to only the cells in question, or to guage the reactions of cells to the additional carrier DNA. Volunteers have bot

In 1938, Hans Speman proposed cloning a mammal by transplanting an adult cell's nucleus into a fertilized egg. This process is called nuclear transfer and was initially used to clone a frog in 1952 (Sinha 1998). Using this process, nuclear DNA from the body cell of a donor frog was injected into the egg cell of a recipient frog whose nuclear genetic material was removed. The fused cells divided just like a normal fertilized egg and formed an embryo that was genetically identical to the donor frog. In 1980 mice were successfully cloned using a similar procedure. The nucleus of a body cell of an embryo removed from a pregnant mouse was placed into a fertilized egg of another mouse whose own nucleus was removed. The cell was grown in vitro until it divided and became an embryo. It was then implanted into another mouse and allowed to grow to term. Mammalian clones of sheep were reproduced in this fashion as well in 1984. This type of cloning needed to use embryonic cells. Almost all of an animal's cells contain the genetic material needed to reproduce that animal. However, as cells differentiate into different tissues and organs, they only keep the genetic material needed to reproduce that organ. Therefore, only embryonic cells can be used for cloning because they have not differentiated into a specific type of tissue and still retain all the genes needed to make a copy of themselves. Although this method of cloning has been successful, most nuclear transfers do not result in live offspring. In addition, there have been a lot of objections raised regarding the use of embryos to clone mammals. Many people object based on religious grounds that the embryo has a soul from the moment of conception and therefore it should not be tampered with. Scientists were hoping that they could clone mammals without the use of embryos (Beddington 1990).

Sickled red blood cells are destroyed by the body faster than normal red blood cells. When large numbers of red blood cells are rapidly destroyed by the body, a condition called hemolytic anemia results.

Newer recombinant DNA techniques were developed in the 1980's that have allowed for the DNA to be directly inserted into an organism's egg or into a plant's cell wall. The organism that develops from this transfer is called a transgenic organism or plant. This technique has been used in plant and animal food production, industry, and medicine. Genes that slow down the ripening of a fruit can be transferred into the cell wall of tomato plants to slow down their spoilage after harvesting. Likewise, the growth hormone gene of rainbow trout can be transferred into carp eggs resulting in a larger species of carp. Industrial wastes can be managed with genetically altered bacteria that can be used to decompose the garbage and break down the petroleum products (Levine 1996).

Bovine ADA had been administered unsuccessfully to ADA defficiency sufferers. The remaining imune functions of the subjects destroyed the ADA before it could be effective In the spring of 1986 a volunteer subject exhibiting this disorder began receiving bovine ADA stailized with polyethylene glycol (or PEG). The subject improved dramatically and with weekly administrations of the PEG-ADA therapy lives a normal life.

A Closer Look: Treating Sickle Cell Disease - Sickle cell disease is a genetic condition that we are very familiar with and therefor experiment extensively with. According to WebMD.com

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ian Wilmut, WebMDcom Sickle, Gene Therapy, Hans Speman, Start Promise, DNA DNA, Human DNA, Nervous Tissue, Advisory Committee, Bovine ADA, gene therapy, human cloning, blood cells, sickle cell, genetic engineering, sickle cell disease, cell disease, mammary cell, genetic material, red blood, red blood cells, genetic therapy, somatic gene therapy, white blood cells, practical ethical religious,
Approximate Word count = 6624
Approximate Pages = 26 (250 words per page double spaced)