Good Essay About Misconceptions About Cloning: A Response

Cloning, a technological advancement in the field of genetics is not readily accepted by society, especially when this pertains to human cloning. In 1997, the cloning of Dolly the Sheep made headlines and triggered fears that human cloning will soon follow. There at least two misconceptions that this paper will focus on. The first one is that the moment a clone is created, it would appear as the same age as the original. The second one is that clones are exact carbon copies of each other.
A clone appearing as the same age is not possible because cloning is creating another embryo. It would take months before such embryo develops into a full-grown individual. Having an exact copy of another individual is also not possible because of the environmental factors that influence a human being’s growth and development. The cloned individual may share the same genetic traits with the original but it is not possible that the two persons would be exactly alike because of the nurture aspect.
These misconceptions about cloning are perpetuated by media especially science fiction. The movie Multiplicity shows hilarious accounts of clones of a person exactly alike in age and behavior. Earlier movies such as Bladerunner, Cyteen and Battleship Galactica also presented variations of humans being cloned. Another reason such misconceptions continue to proliferate is the people’s lack of interest to know the scientific explanation about cloning. Sometimes, the highly exaggerated description and scenarios presented by the media is more entertaining and thus passed on quickly to more people in the world. There are also certain views, e.g. from particular religions, that are totally against any modifications of the human body. The misconceptions would actually aid their advocacy of humans rejecting any artificial methods. However, the misconceptions are being clarified in schools as well as in public information agencies. The people just need to be more critical about the information being passed around. Human clones will not replace the current population because it is impossible to create exact copies of human beings.