The
Controversial Topic
Research
Paper
Cloning
Nick
Woerishofer
4/24/12
The
Controversial Topic
Author’s Note: This is a
research paper on the topic of cloning. I will be talking about what cloning
is, why it is such a controversial topic, some animals that have been cloned,
whether or not we should clone a human, and some other things. Enjoy!
Should we clone a human? You might ask yourself, what is
cloning? Well scientists put it this way, “An umbrella term traditionally used
by scientists to describe different processes for duplicating biological
material” (Cloning Fact Sheet, 2009). Not
too many people agree with the topic of whether or not to clone a human being.
Some believe that only God should have the power to make new life, while others
might say that it is a complete waste of time and we should spend more time
studying things like the universe. Yet, some believe that one day cloning might
make all of our lives better. What do you think? Cloning is a controversial
topic, that’s no lie, but the cloning process is difficult. Many animals have
been cloned but if we could clone a human it would go down in history as one of
man’s greatest accomplishments!
Though it is a controversial
topic, the process is very difficult. “First you have to isolate the donor nucleus, second get unfertilized eggs, then remove eggs nucleus, later insert donor nucleus, lastly place egg in womb” (Carver, 2004). So as you
can see this is a difficult process. The process can sometimes take weeks to
complete. And after the egg is in the womb the scientists still have to wait a
long time before the clone is born. After the clone is born, they have to do
many many test to see one. If the clone is in good condition and two, its time
to see if it has all the characteristics as the origonal, then this is the
process they must use to make Dolly the sheep.
The process may be difficult but it has been done
before. “In 1952, the first animal, a tadpole, was
cloned. Before the creation of Dolly, the first mammal cloned from the cell of
an adult animal, clones were created from embryonic cells. Since Dolly,
researchers have cloned a number of large and small animals including sheep,
goats, cows, mice, pigs, cats, rabbits, and a gaur. All these clones were
created using nuclear transfer technology”
(Cloning Fact Sheet, 2009). So as you can see many different kinds of animals
have been cloned. The largest of these animals is definatly the guar, and the
smallest being the tadpole. The process maybe difficult and may take a while
but they have cloned many animals and have a lot of success doing it.
Some
advantages to cloning are “Potential benefits to modern medicine,
Helping infertile couples, Reverse the aging
process, Protecting Endangered Species, and Improving food supply” (Advantages and Disadvantages , 2009). This could help stop
the aging process. Imagine never getting older. It could save all the endangered
animals. So as you can see this could do a lot of good to the world.
Alone with advantages there are some
disadvantages like “The Element of Uncertainty, Inheriting
diseases, The Potential for Abuse”
(Advantages and Disadvantages , 2009). There are some disadvantages but not too
many. This is saying that they are not certain that it will even work on a
human, which could have some concequensis. Also if a clone is just a copy of
the origonal then it would have all the same diseases, like cancer, it would
all the same allergies, like if your allergic to peanuts. So there are some dis
advantages but not as many as the advatages.
If
we one day cloned a human being that would be a big step in the right
direction, and it could open up new possibilities for scientist and their work.
The cloning of Dolly the sheep was successful but it took 200+ times before it
actually worked, so when we one day try to clone a human there is a big chance
we could fail and possibly kill someone while we are at it. It is a controversial topic because someone may think
that it is just a waste of time and that we shouldn’t waste our time in trying
to make doubles of things, but it could also be helpful on day.
Bibliography
Advantages and Disadvantages . (2009, January 24). Retrieved April 19, 2012, from
Methods of Healing :
http://www.methodsofhealing.com/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloning/
Carver, R. J. (2004). Cloning: How To Make
Identical Genomes. Retrieved April 18, 2012, from Explore More:
http://www.iptv.org/exploremore/ge/what/clone.cfm
Cloning Fact Sheet. (2009, May 11). Retrieved April 16, 2012, from Human Genome Project
Information : http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml
