Cloning and the issues associated with it, like the advantages and disadvantages as well as the ethical and scientific validity of human cloning has been one of the most discussed topics of the last millennia. It is still haunting both who are with the cloning and who are against it. But before choosing your side, check out the curious acts about cloning.
The word ‘cloning’ means copying any organism to the exact genotypic and phenotypic form of it, having the exact characteristic features of the parent organism. The world took notice of this process after the successful creation of a sheep named ‘Dolly’ by the Scottish group of scientists at the Roslin Institute in the year 1997. The cause of the hype after this feat was only because of the fact that with the successful cloning of such a ‘big organism’ the chances of cloning human increases automatically.
Though there has been resistance from the organism and its molecular functionality itself in the cloning process, making it impossible in the case of different organisms to have their clones. First organism to be cloned was a tadpole in the year 1952 and after that there have been a number of organisms including animals like sheep, cow, rabbit, pig, goat etc.
The human cloning has been opposed even by scientists due to many reasons. One of them is that it has been seen that the cloning process is highly inefficient, as only a very low percentile of the total number of experiments brings out successful results. Moreover, scientists are bothered of the unknown facts about the mental development of the cloned humans, which is not such a big factor in case of animals. But yes, there is also a potential threat of ‘large-offspring syndrome’ in the cloned animals, including humans.
However, some supports have also been found for cloning stating that it can help in the medical cases where the cloned tissues or organs can be transplanted, plus the issue of infertility is also there, which can be overcome through the cloned child, who will resemble the parents in genotype and phenotype to its best. Another thought that supported this was that it will lead the scientific world to newer realms of knowledge about human body and behavior.
. National Human Genome Research Institute. 19 April 2012. Retrieved from web. http://www.genome.gov/25020028
2. The Advantages of Cloning. 19 April 2012. Retrieved from web. http://library.thinkquest.org/C0122429/ethics/advantages.htm
3. Smith M. (2005). Cloning FAQ’s and Fiction. 31 January 2005. Retrieved from web. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=51973
