Types of Human Cloning - Research Paper Example

Cloning Introduction In the field of biology Cloning is used as a term used to refer to the procedure of production of populations that are similar to each other and are identical to each other in the context of genetics. Cloning takes place as living things including plant life, bacteria and insects are in the process of reproducing asexually. In the field of biotechnology it is referred to as a procedure utilized to create identical copies of fragments of DNA, organisms and cells. The term cloning is even used in digital context when identical forms of software are produced. The concept clone is obtained from an ancient Greek term called klon which was used to refer to the procedure through which creation of plants took place from twig (MacKinnon 17). During the period of 2006, FDA approved the usage of cloned products such as plants and animals for dietary purpose of individuals living in US. Human cloning is a term used to define the creation of a genetically similar copy of a human being (MacKinnon 9). In this research the focus will not be cloning of animals and plants, rather the focus will be on human cloning, types of human cloning and the advantages and disadvantages associated with it. Body Types of Human Cloning Reproductive cloning is one form of human cloning which is used to produce one or more than one individuals who are genetically identical to each other. During the period of 1990s, the process of reproductive cloning was utilized in order to create identical clones of mammals such as sheep and pigs and one of the most famous examples of this activity was the production of Dolly (MacKinnon 56). Later several countries started banning the process in order to put a stop to the process of reproductive cloning for human beings. Another form of human cloning is DNA cloning which is even regarded as molecular cloning or cloning of the gene or recombinant DNA technology which is used to refer to the procedure through which multiple replicas of an individual fragment of DNA is created (MacKinnon 139). This kind of cloning can be conducted in several forms, for example: cloning of entire fragment of the gene can be conducted or a portion of the fragment of the DNA can be cloned or certain sequences of the DNA can be cloned. There are four steps involved in the process of DNA cloning, these include, fragmentation in which string of DNA is divided, the next step is the ligation part in which different parts of DNA are glued together in a sequence that is desirable, the third step is recognized as transfection, in this step the newly created DNA is inserted into cells and the last step is recognized as selection in which the those cells that were transfected successfully with the DNA are selected (MacKinnon 116). Advantages of Cloning One of the main advantages of cloning is that it can be used for therapeutic reasons; this kind of cloning is referred to as therapeutic cloning and can be used as medicine to treat individuals (MacKinnon 12). With the assistance of this kind of cloning, pluripotent cells can be removed from an individual’s body (MacKinnon 12). These cells can result in creation of other cells within the human body except the embryo; this means that diseases can be treated through pluriptent cells in different organs of the human body with the replacement of cells that are functioning in an abnormal manner. With the assistance of this type of cloning alleviation of the risk of immunological rejection can take place as an individual’s own genetic elements are used in this treatment. In the case of organ transplantation, when cell lines are created through cells of another human being, the changes of the cell lines being rejected are quite high as the patient’s body will easily recognize proteins from foreign body and attack the cells that have been transplanted. This is one of the issues when organ transplant is being conducted along with the issue of lack of organs in the organ transplantation market. These issues can be solved with the assistance of therapeutic cloning (MacKinnon 151). Cloning can help resolve the issue of fertility among those whop are sterile and have failed to produce children. There are other options through which the problem of infertility can be resolved, but those methods do not necessarily work for every one (MacKinnon 13). Cloning can be a great alternative to this issue, this form of cloning is regarded as reproductive cloning. Reproductive cloning is conducted by injecting genetic elements obtained from one individual into the egg and then the egg is stimulated with the assistance of chemicals and electricity. Next the egg is placed inside the uterus and child birth takes place. This way of producing life has been successful in animals, but research for the usage of this method among human beings is still on going. Disadvantages Cloning has several advantages associated with it, but most of these advantages are still being research and tested and after huge amount of expenditure on research and wastage of material, scientists have resorted to the fact that cloning has failed to achieve its results in an effective manner. The costs involved in conducting any form of cloning including reproductive cloning is quite high and a lot of money has already been wasted on research. Researchers have figured out that out of the total number of attempts made to produce clones, 90% have ended up in failure and out of a total of 100 nuclear procedures of transfer; one has ended up being successful (Ornl, 20120. Other than the low amount of success rate, cloned animals experience the risk of lower level of immune system which can not protect the cloned entity from various infections, deadly diseases and growth of tumor. According to the website of university of Utah, the failure rate of SCNT cloning procedure is between 99.9% - 97%, this means that out of a total of 1000 attempts to conduct cloning only, 1 to 3 attempts end up being successful and the remaining ones fail (Utah, 2012). According to a study conducted by Japanese individuals, mice who are cloned do not live well and experience death at an early age (Sateesh 600). Research even proved that out of the total number of claves produced through cloning, one out of every three has ended up dead and after they were cloned, they were abnormally very huge (Sateesh 600). Research on the length of survival of clones has failed because all the clones that have been created have failed to survive for a longer period of time (Sateesh 600). Secondly, these clones seem to look quite healthy initially, but soon they loose their health and several of them have died in a mysterious way. For example: In the area of Australia, the first sheep cloned seemed to be of great health even on the day she experienced death and after her death, no reason for death or no illnesses could be determined (Sateesh 600). Conclusion Cloning is regarded as the process of creating a genetically similar organism, two kinds of human cloning exists; these include DNA cloning and Reproductive cloning. Cloning has been successful and researchers believe that it can be a great way of treating diseases. The problem with cloning is that it has failed to produce perfect results and the success rate of cloning procedures is quite low, while the costs and the expenses associated with it are quite high. Most of the cloned entities have failed to survive and have died in mysterious manners, cloning has shown negative impact on the health of the species that have been cloned. References Cloning Fact Sheet." Oak Ridge National Laboratory. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Dec. 2012. . MacKinnon, Barbara. Human cloning: science, ethics, and public policy. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2000. Print. Sateesh, M. K.. Bioethics and biosafety. New Delhi: I.K International Pub. House, 2008. Print. What are the Risks of Cloning?." Learn.Genetics™. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Dec. 2012. . Read More