Cloning: What is It and How Can It Help Society - Article Example

CLONING Introduction Cloning can be defined as the process of creating an identical copy of an original animal. It is the process of asexually producing a group of genetically identical cells, from a single parent cell. (Wikipedia, 2006). The term cloning is used to describe the production of one or more organism (an animal or a human) who is genetically identical to a source or donor organism (an animal or a human). Cloning is taking a single cell from an adult animal to produce another complete and genetically identical animal. Each cell in an animal contains all the genetic information (in the form of DNA), which can be used to produce a clone of that animal. Today this technology is being discussed far and wide for its benefits as well as its ethics. It is an issue of controversy for many of them particularly the religious groups. This paper discusses the benefits and the future of this technology. In order to understand how exactly the process of cloning is carried out, it is important to understand the basics of cell biology. The fertilized egg, from which a human develops, for example, contains DNA which is the basic genetic material that is the blueprint of living organisms from both mother and father. The egg divides into two identical cells and further it divides into four, eight, sixteen and so on. The DNA within these cells is the copy of each other and these cells are called clones. After some stage, the cells begin to differentiate, or become specialized, into skin cells, eye cells, liver cells, and so on (Cloning, 2006). Human beings or for that matter any organism is a result of natures cloning. However, today manmade cloning is a subject of controversy and has raised several ethical questions. There are several arguments made for and against cloning. Some have put forth valid arguments stating the immorality of cloning. Others use the religion argument saying it goes against Gods intention (McCoy, 1998). For any technology to progress and produce beneficial results it is essential that we look at the positive impacts that these technologies may have on the society. A brief history of cloning If we look at the history of cloning the major initiation started in 1962, by the biologist John Gurdon of Oxford University. He used the nucleus of fully differentiated adult intestinal cells to clone South African frogs. Gurdons results electrified the scientific community, but some scientists remained skeptical and began to find flaws in his work. In 1963, the British biologist J.B.S. Haldane is credited to have coined the term "clone" in a speech entitled "Biological Possibilities for the Human Species of the Next Ten-Thousand Years." Even though many scientists had described, and even completed the cloning process by this time, the term "cloning" had never been used to describe such experiments. In 1966, Marshall Niremberg, Heinrich Mathaei, and Severo Ochoa crack the genetic code. The cracking of the genetic code opened the door for the explosion of genetic engineering studies and achievements beginning in the late 1970s (John, N.D.). Several researchers thereafter worked on this subject and produced useful results. For instance, in 1967, enzyme DNA ligase isolated. In 1969 Shapiero and Beckwith isolate the first gene. In 1970 first restriction enzyme was isolated. Paul Berg in 1972 created the first recombinant DNA molecules. In 1973 Cohen and Boyer create first recombinant DNA organisms. In 1977 Karl Illmensee claims to have created mice with only one parent. Similarly there were several such developments in 1980’s. In 1990 Human Genome Project began. In 1994, Neal First produces genetic copies of calves from embryos. They grow to at least 120 cells. (Waite, N.D.). The birth of the cloned sheep ‘‘Dolly’’ was announced in Nature in 1997 (Wilmut et al., 1997). This initiated the discussion about the possibility of cloning humans. Of late the American Society for Reproductive Medicine declared that human cloning by artificial embryo splitting was an ethical procedure to increase the number of implantable human blastocysts used in certain infertility treatments (ASRM, 2000). However, the majority of scientific opinion is opposed to the reproductive cloning of humans in view of problems such as developmental, morphological, and physiological deformities observed in mammals that had been cloned (Jaenisch and Wilmut, 2001). These researchers have shown the potential of science and have created a lot of scope for further research in the field of cloning. Types of cloning and potential benefits There are three types of cloning - recombinant DNA technology or DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Recombinant DNA Technology or DNA Cloning: This process involves the transfer of a DNA fragment of interest from one organism to a self-replicating genetic element such as a bacterial plasmid. The DNA of interest is then be propagated in a foreign host cell. Plasmids and other types of cloning vectors are used by Human Genome Project researchers to copy genes and other pieces of chromosomes to generate enough identical material for further research. This technology can be further used for learning about other related technologies, such as gene therapy, genetic engineering of organisms, and sequencing genomes. Reproductive Cloning: In a process called "somatic cell nuclear transfer" (SCNT), scientists transfer genetic material from the nucleus of a donor adult cell to an egg whose nucleus has been removed. The reconstructed egg containing the DNA from a donor cell is then treated with chemicals or electric current to stimulate cell division. Once the cloned embryo reaches appropriate stage, it is transferred to the uterus of a female host where it continues to develop until birth. Dolly the sheep was cloned by reproductive cloning technology. Reproductive cloning could be used to repopulate endangered animals or animals that are difficult to breed. In 2001, the first clone of an endangered wild animal was born, a wild ox called a gaur. In 2001, scientists in Italy reported the successful cloning of a healthy baby mouflon, an endangered wild sheep. Similarly other endangered species can also be preserved. Therapeutic Cloning: Therapeutic cloning is also called "embryo cloning," is the production of human embryos for use in research. In this technology the unused embryos (stem cells) as a result of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) are used to study human development and to treat disease, repair damaged or diseased tissues and organs. Therapeutic cloning has huge potential particularly in biomedical science and requires extensive research to realize this promise. Many researchers hope that stem cells can be used to serve as replacement cells to treat heart disease, Alzheimers, cancer, and other diseases. Risks of cloning The science of cloning can have potential benefits as well as risks. The investments in these technologies are huge at the same time the success rate ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent. Reproductive cloning is expensive and has proven to be highly inefficient. More than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce viable offspring. The creator of Dolly once stated, "…cloning by the present methods is a lottery… Several coins are thrown and all must come up as heads if normal life is to result” (Wilmut, 2002). Besides, cloned animals are likely to have more compromised immune function and higher rates of infection, tumor growth, and other disorders. Such failures can cause enormous economic burden for the nation. The inefficiency of animal cloning experiments has left the scientific community with a great deal of ambiguity in taking up similar research in human. Besides, the lack of understanding of this technology, many scientists consider that it would be wrong to attempt to clone humans. Several cloned animals have died prematurely from infections and other complications. Human cloning may also result in similar troubles. The impact on the mental development of such trials is also unknown. While factors such as intellect and mood may not be as important for animals, they are crucial for the development of healthy humans. With so many unknowns regarding reproductive cloning, the attempt to clone humans at this time is considered potentially unsafe and unethical (Human Genome Program information, 2006). The scientific research in the field of cloning has a good future potential and is an upcoming field. With the scientific and technological skills of the scientific community, therapeutic cloning has the greatest biomedical potential in comparison to other alternatives. Especially it would be of great help for people who suffer from degenerative diseases such as Alzheimers or Parkinsons. Cloning has the potential to change the world for infertile couples and give them hope to have a child. Besides, this technology can also help in the field of conserving biodiversity and preventing the endangered species from extinction. It will also play a major role in food industry by way of genetically modified organisms. It is important to understand the potential of this technology and promote its use. Future research is essential to ascertain the safety. Though the ethical and religious hurdles will continue, research need to continue and also be supported and encouraged. If we do not explore the potential of such research, it would be a great loss to the advancement of medical science. References ASRM (2000) Embryo splitting for fertility treatment. American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Birmingham, Alabama, USA. Cloning (2006). Britannica Student Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 March 2006, from Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service http://www.britannica.com/ebi/article-198822 Human Genome Program information, (2006) Cloning Fact Sheet Retrieved 10 March 2006, from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml Jaenisch, R. and Wilmut, I. (2001) Developmental biology. Don’t clone humans! Science 291(5513):2552. John, (N.D.) History of Cloning. Retrieved 12 March 2006, from http://home.hawaii.rr.com/johns/history.htm McCoy, L. (1998). Lloyds pro cloning essay. Retrieved 12 March 2006, from http://www.humancloning.org/lloyd.htm Waite, G. (N.D.) A Brief History of Cloning (1880 to present). Retrieved 11 March 2006, from http://www.reproductivecloning.net/hosting//waite/ Wilmut, I., Schnieke, A.E., McWhir, J., Kind, A.J. and Campbell, K.H. (1997) Viable offspring derived from fetal and adult mammalian cells. Nature 385(6619):810–813. Wilmut, I. (2002) Are there any normal cloned animals? Nature Medicine 8: 215-216. Wikipedia (2006). Cloning. Retrieved on 12 March 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloning Read More