The year is 2024. The world population has nearly doubled, and the U.S. economy has hit an all time low. Resources are low, and the world is in chaos. How could the world population increase so quickly? Human cloning was finally created, and everyone who wanted a clone of themselves bought one. Soon households had double the mouths to feed, and there was not enough food. Is that the future people want? It appears in science fiction novels, frivolous cartoons, and the headlines of newspapers. Despite its popularity, cloning is a topic so vast and that very little information has been found on it. “There are three types of cloning: DNA cloning, therapeutic cloning, and reproductive cloning” (Farrel and Carson-Dewitt). Reproductive cloning is the method used for cloning complex organisms like animals, and possibly humans. Although cloning is a largely unknown and ambiguous part of science, it is very controversial. Animal cloning is questioned, but human cloning is constantly debated. Scientists are beginning to clone organisms, but it is wrong and unnatural because it is against many religions, requires advanced technology, and will negatively affect the human population.
Cloning can have many different meanings. According to Collins English Dictionary, cloning can be defined as a group of organisms or cells of the same genetic material that was taken from a common ancestor by asexual reproduction (“clone”). In other words, DNA is taken from one organism, and put into another (“clone”). Cloning has been regarded as science fiction, yet has been in existence for over fifty years. However, cloning was never popular until 1997. Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to successfully be cloned. “Although several other animal species had b...
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Cloning, upon first hearing the word cloning, the thought of Dolly the sheep pops into the mind. The first and most used type of cloning though is not the type that creates animals, but rather DNA cloning. “Cloning is an umbrella term that science uses to indicate the duplication of biological material.”(Human Genome Project) Cloning is further broken down into three categories. The first is DNA cloning, which is the replication of DNA strands. DNA cloning is usually the process of getting a cell to replicate a desired gene for us. DNA cloning has been used since the 1970’s and has persisted as an effective cheap means of replicating DNA of interest in a foreign host cell. “To "clone a gene," a DNA fragment containing the gene of interest is isolated from chromosomal DNA using restriction enzymes and then united with a plasmid that has been cut with the same restriction enzymes.”(Human Genome Project) Plasmids are not part of the chromosome but they replicate along with the cell when it replicates and divides. Since they are not a part of the chromosome they are easier to isolate and manipulate without affecting the cells function. “When the f...
“Cloning represents a very clear, powerful, and immediate example in which we are in danger of turning procreation into manufacture.” (Kass) The concept of cloning continues to evoke debate, raising extensive ethical and moral controversy. As humans delve into the fields of science and technology, cloning, although once considered infeasible, could now become a reality. Although many see this advancement as the perfect solution to our modern dilemmas, from offering a potential cure for cancer, AIDS, and other irremediable diseases, its effects are easily forgotten. Cloning, especially when concerning humans, is not the direction we must pursue in enhancing our lives. It is impossible for us to predict its effects, it exhausts monetary funds, and it harshly abases humanity.
Long after Shelley wrote her classic masterpiece Frankenstein and Huxley wrote Brave New World, the ethical controversy of cloning conflicts with modern artificial intelligence research. The question that challenges the idea of negative or positive behavior in a replicated machine relies on its similarity to the source of the clone, whether it emulates human behavior or acts as a “superintelligence” with supernatural characteristics void of human error. Humanity will not know the absolute answers concerning behavioral outcome without creating a physical being, an idea portrayed in Shelley’s Frankenstein in which the creation of a monster emulates from his creator’s attempts to generate life. At the time of the novel’s publication, the idea of replicating a soul portrayed a nightmarish theme with little consideration for the potential scientific advancements to facilitate in reality. It lead the genetic idea of manmade intelligence and its ethics emerging from the relativity of space, time, and original life on the planet. The debate of the existing possibility of sentient machines continues to progress, but the consideration of ethical questions such as “Should we create these artificial people?” and “How does this enactment define the soul and mind?” warranted from primitive questions about machine learning within the last century. After the initial proof of possibility for sentient machines, the perfection of cloning will generate “good” behavior at its perfect state several generations from now. The perfect machine portrays the potential for sensible human behaviors including compassion, mentality, empathy, alertness, and love. Humanity of the twenty-first century possesses the knowledge to fantasize the idea of artificial ...
A compelling issue that has come into focus in the past several years is the idea of human cloning. Many scientists believe that it is inevitable because the technology is there, and anything that can be done eventually will be done. They preach the value of human clones, dropping phrases like 'cure for disease' and 'prolonged life' to entice the public into supporting their cause. Though these concepts seem beguiling, the notion of human cloning, when looked at as a whole, has serious repercussions and should not be entertained lightly. From a strictly scientific point of view, we are just not ready to attempt the cloning of a human being.
...e pressing issue that will question our morals, ethics, and view on human dignity. As a society, we must come to a decision regarding Human Cloning and stand by it, whether it is the right decision or not. Our actions will have a profound impact on the methods of reproduction used by future generations.
In the essay, Cloning Reality: Brave New World by Wesley J. Smith, a skewed view of the effects of cloning is presented. Wesley feels that cloning will end the perception of human life as sacred and ruin the great diversity that exists today. He feels that cloning may in fact, end human society as we know it, and create a horrible place where humans are simply a resource. I disagree with Wesley because I think that the positive effects of controlled human cloning can greatly improve the quality of life for humans today, and that these benefits far outweigh the potential drawbacks that could occur if cloning was misused.
Herbert, Wray. The World After Cloning. U.S. News and World Report. March 10, 1997: 59-64.
Cloning humans has recently become a possibility. It is achieved by the production of a group of identical cells or organisms that all derive from a single individual (Grolier 220). It is not known when 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 humans is an idea that has always been thought of as something that could be found in science fiction novels, but never as a concept that society could actually experience. "It is much in the news. The public has been bombarded with newspaper articles, magazine stories, books, television shows, and movies as well as cartoons¡¨, writes Robert McKinnell, the author of Cloning: A Biologist Reports (24). Much of this information in these sources leads the public in the wrong direction and makes them wonder how easy it would be for everyone around them to be cloned. Bizarre ideas about cloning lie in many science fiction books and scare the public with their unbelievable possibilities. David Rorvik wrote a highly controversial book entitled In His Image. In it he describes the story of a wealthy man who decides to clone himself. He is successful in doing this and causes quite an uprise in his community. This book was written in the late seventies and even then, societies reaction to the issues of human cloning was generally a negative one. We face a problem today even greater than the one in this book and it involves the duplication of human beings in a society that has always been known for its diversity. The main issue as to whether or not human cloning is possible through the splitting of embryos began in 1993 when experimentation was done at George W...
Cloning is a process by which genetically equal organisms are created with the same DNA. In simplest terms, clones are like twins born at different times. This procedure poses various dangers to society and humankind. One of the greatest threats this procedure creates is among
John A. Robertson, “Human Cloning and the Challenge of Regulation,” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 339, no. 2 (July 9, 1998), pp. 119-122.
ProQuest Staff. "Human Cloning Timeline." Leading Issues Timelines. 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. source 3
It address the questions that are at the center of the medical field, such as what it means to be human, the role of technology in health care, and the boundaries of treatments involving advances in technology. Although human enhancement appears to have several positive affects, the negative affects are also great in number. Neither can be overlooked since this technology has the power to not only improve humanity, but also bring it to an all time low. By considering the factors that play into the outcomes of biotechnology, it is possible to answer the pressing questions at hand and to determine the circumstances in which biotechnology could result in beneficial
Wachbroit, Robert. The. “Human Cloning Isn’t as Scary as it Sounds.” The Washington Post, 2 March 1997.
Nicklin, D. S. 2001. Medical Issues: The Future Impact of Biotechnology on Human Factors. [e-book] United Kingdom: pp. 1-2. Available through: science and technology organisation collaboration support centre http://ftp.rta.nato.int/public/PubFullText/RTO/MP/RTO-MP-077/MP-077-19.pdf [Accessed: 11 Apr 2014].