The Pros And Cons Of Cloning

What if you could bring back someone you love or a beloved pet from the dead? You may be able to do that in the near future with cloning. Cloning is when an organism is genetically identical to the individual from which it was asexually derived (Random House). Cloning was brought to light in 1997 when scientists successfully cloned a sheep. The birth of Dolly was a major scientific breakthrough. In writing this paper, I hope to shed light on what cloning is, the reasons to conduct cloning research, pros and cons of cloning, and what the future of cloning looks like. What is a clone? In simpler terms, it is an exact copy of the DNA of an original organism (Engdahl 17). Cloning is something that’s been around for a while. Plants, like strawberries and potatoes, use this technique to grow. “When plants like strawberry plants and potatoes send out runners, modified versions of a stem, new plants grow wherever the runners take root” (Engdahl 17). Animals can also clone themselves too. A not so obvious

For example, scientists want to genetically engineer agriculturally important animals so they can pollute less, grow more rapidly, and produce higher quality meat or milk (Levine 165). They also hope to turn animals into biological factories, capable of producing medicines and other products at a lower cost than traditional manufacturing (Levine 168). Cloning can also be used to help strengthen the food supply around the world. Researchers have been able to clone disease-resistant crops and livestock. Plant cloning has created many benefits for the agricultural industry. For example, cloned plants are more predictable and the yields are more reliable. They are also able to create pesticide resistant plants which save the agricultural industry millions of dollars (Levine 166). As for human cloning, scientists want to use cloning technology to be able to understand diseases