Human Cloning.

Should humans be cloned? That is the question that many people all over the world have been debating for a long time now even though Scientists have proved a number of times that human cloning could be highly beneficial to the human race, if it were legal.

Introduction Some say that the idea of human cloning is morally wrong and that we would be "Playing God." However, facts show that there is nothing physically wrong with human cloning. If the law allowed human cloning, it would not only save lives, but it would lead to a number of advancements in scientific research, and improve the quality of life. Especially of those parents who are infertile or have once before lost a loved one. The possibility of human cloning was raised when Scottish scientists at Roslin Institute created the cloned sheep "Dolly" This attracted a lot of attention for its scientific advancement and its Ethical problems.

Will the science be ready?

Scientists have been cloning animals for many years. In 1952, the first animal, a tadpole, was cloned. Since Dolly the sheep, researchers have cloned a number of large and small animals including sheep, goats, cows, mice, pigs, cats, rabbits, and a gaur and all these clones were created using nuclear transfer technology. This technology involves an egg cell, with its nucleus removed, instead implanted with the DNA from a donor cell. This egg then has to be treated with chemicals or an electric current to stimulate cell division and once the cloned embryo reaches a suitable stage, it is then transferred to the womb of a surrogate mother, where it develops as normal until birth. A clone created using nuclear transfer technology is not truly identical to the donor animal this is because only the clone`s chromosomes are the same as the donor. Some of the clone`s genetic materials come from the mitochondria in the cytoplasm of the egg. # Already hundreds of cloned animals exist today, but the number of different species is limited as attempts at cloning certain species have been unsuccessful. This could be because some species may be more resistant to the nuclear transfer than others, and the process of extracting the nucleus from an egg cell and replacing it with the nucleus of a donor cell is a traumatic one, and improvements in cloning technologies may be needed before other species can be cloned successfully. If cloning technology does work then we will almost certainly be able to clone the dead too, from cells taken from their bodies before they die and kept alive in culture. This is a very standard technique and using this technique parents could "reproduce" an exact copy of a child who tragically died and also Dolly the sheep was made using frozen cells. A recent claim from Clonaid states that in January 2003 they had cloned the dead son of a Japanese couple who had been killed in an accident. This shows us that the science involved in making human clones is not far off, as the speed at which scientists are making developments in genetics is very rapid. In any case there could be a less risky type of cloning, which would be therapeutic cloning, this can be used to make tissues and organs for transplants. To do this, DNA would be extracted from the person in need of a transplant and inserted into an empty egg. After the egg containing the patient`s DNA starts to divide, embryonic stem cells would be harvested. The stem cells would be used to form an organ or tissue that is a genetic match to the recipient. And so in theory, the cloned organ could then be transplanted into the patient without the risk of tissue rejection. If organs could be generated from cloned human embryos, the need for organ donation could be significantly reduced. Many challenges must be overcome before these transplants could become reality, such like the full human cloning. More effective technologies for creating human embryos, harvesting stem cells, and producing organs from stem cells would have to be developed. In 2001, the first human embryos were cloned, however the only embryo to survive the cloning process stopped developing after diving into six cells. Then in February 2002, scientists with the same technology reported that they had successfully transplanted kidney-like organs into cows. The team of researchers created a cloned cow embryo by removing the DNA from an egg cell and then injecting the DNA from the skin cell of the donor cow`s ear. Since little is known about manipulating embryonic stem cells from cows, the scientists let the cloned embryos develop into fetuses. The scientists then harvested fetal tissue from the clones and transplanted it into the donor cow. In the three months of observation following the transplant, no sign of immune rejection was observed in the transplant recipient.

#But human cloning does have some large risks, mainly health risks, towards the cloned baby/embryo. There are huge risks of mutations, which may not be able to be picked up by gene testing or ultrasound scans until after the birth. Problems also may arise due to errors in the genetic material from the donor cell. Defects in the genes of the DNA from a single donor cell may lead to developmental abnormalities in cloned embryos. In addition, scientists do not know how cloning could impact mental development, While factors such as intellect and mood may not be as important for a cow or a mouse, they are crucial for the development of healthy humans. Also reproductive cloning is expensive and highly inefficient. More than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce healthy embryos and more than 100 nuclear transfer procedures could be required to produce one healthy clone. In addition to low success rates, cloned animals tend to have more compromised immune function and higher rates of infection, tumor growth, and other disorders as many studies have shown, such as: In Japan, cloned mice live in poor health and die early, about a third of the cloned calves born alive have died young, and many of them were abnormally large. But many cloned animals have not lived long enough to generate valid data about how clones age as appearing healthy at a young age is not a good indicator of long-term survival. Clones have also been known to die for no seen reason, for example, Australia`s first cloned sheep appeared healthy and energetic on the day she died, and the results from her autopsy failed to determine a cause of death. even some scientists believe today`s technology just isn`t ready to be tested on humans. Ian Wilmut, one of Dolly`s co-creators, has said that human cloning projects would be irresponsible. Cloning technology is still in its early stages, and nearly 98 percent of cloning efforts end in failure. The embryos are either not suitable for implanting into the uterus, or die some time during growth or shortly after birth. Those clones that do survive suffer from genetic abnormalities. Clone cells may age more rapidly, shortening their lifespan, similar to what happened with Dolly. Some clones have been born with defective hearts, lung problems, diabetes, blood vessel complications and malfunctioning immune systems. One of the more famous cases involved a cloned sheep that was born but suffered from chronic hyperventilation caused by malformed arteries leading to the lungs. 

Will it be ethically and socially accepted?

#Due to the inefficiency of animal cloning and the lack of understanding about reproductive cloning, many scientists strongly believe that it would be unethical to attempt to clone humans. Not only do most attempts to clone mammals fail but about 30% of clones born alive are affected with "large-offspring syndrome" and other debilitating conditions and these same problems would be expected in human cloning. With so many unknowns around reproductive cloning, the attempt to clone humans at this time is considered potentially dangerous and ethically irresponsible. Surveys have shown that few approve of cloning for reproductive purposes, although more are open to therapeutic cloning. Also the American government has hindered the development of human cloning technologies by Firstly not funding research focused on human cloning for reproduction. Also, the FDA, which regulates public cloning research, requires anyone in the United States attempting to clone humans to first get its permission. #Certain countries abroad have stricter standards, and more than 50 have legally banned research efforts on reproductive human cloning. In Japan, human cloning is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and here in England scientists have been allowed to clone human embryos for therapeutic use only. It has been pointed out, that while defective clones in other animals may not pose any worry, it become ethically and morally wrong to risk this happening during the human cloning process. This has lead to the response that it`s now easier to pick out defective embryos before they`re implanted into the mother. In 2005, the United Nations attempted to pass a global ban on human cloning, but was unsuccessful due to disagreements over whether therapeutic cloning should be included. For now, human cloning remains in a troubling position from both a scientific and a public policy perspective.

#The cloning of a human, holds many social and emotional risks, for example - a child grows up knowing her mother is in fact her sister, her grandmother is actually her mother. Every time her mother looks at her she is seeing herself growing up. These can pose unbearable emotional pressures on a teenager trying to establish his or her identity. What happens to a marriage when the "father" sees his wife`s clone grow up into the exact replica by appearance, of the 18 year old he fell in love with 35 years ago? A sexual relationship would of course be with his wife`s twin, so no incest involved technically.

But at the same time, human cloning could be used to improve the quality of life, you could recover someone who was loved and have them in your life once more. But here more problems could be caused, as this person may not end up being the same personality wise, and would also grow up during a different generation.

Infertility could be treated, rather than use donated sperm and eggs, why not use a cell of your own to give birth to "yourself"? Eugenics - an attempt to improve the human race. Megalomania - a desire to reproduce one`s own qualities. Spare parts - using a cell from your own body to duplicate yourself. Then take tissue e.g. bone marrow which you could use to get cured from many diseases and disorders, then offer baby for adoption. Organ Donors- Healthy humans could be cloned in mass to then solve the problem of the lack or organ donors.

In conclusion, even after more than a decade since Dolly, human cloning remains in its infancy. Although cloning technology has improved, the process still has a slim success rate of 1 to 4 percent. That being said, science is headed in the direction of those success rates increasing. Whether clones will be ready by 2030, also depends on the loosening of the governmental restraints involving human cloning, and the public view. Which at the moment appears to be a very closed "no", as most people see human cloning as a violation against God, or an unnecessary movement which could be emotionally wrecking to the clones. Although the idea of human cloning being available is a widely spread answer, as different countries around the world may have different views and different stages of the technology. For example, places like The UK, America and China may have the technology readily available, but the idea would still be pushed aside because of the social and ethical problems human cloning arises. On the other hand, some less developed countries, may not have the technology to hand, but if that technology were obtained then the ethical argument may not be such a weighted factor and human cloning could in fact occur.

References: 1. This site was modified in 2009, meaning that it`s relevance is still pretty high as this was only 3 years ago. But the rate at which technology concerning human cloning has advanced could see this article as out of date. But for the purposes of the methods undertaken, this sit is still suitable and gives valid information.

2.Kevin Bonsor is a freelance writer. He holds a bachelor`s degree in journalism from Georgia Southern University As a writer and blogger for HowStuffWorks and a contributing writer for Discovery News, Cristen specializes in technology and the science of everyday living. Her articles have featured on Huffington Post, ABC Science and MSNBC.com. Both these authors seem like a valid source, having written articles featured on science pieces.

3. Again a page last updated in 2009, and so should still be up to date with the current affairs and ethical issues on human cloning, the site also states "We will attempt to overcome our biases on each topic that we describe, by explaining each point of view carefully, respectfully and objectively. To this end, we have many of our essays reviewed by persons familiar with the issues who represent all sides of each topic." Giving me confidence that it is also an unbiased source of information.

4. Written by the author Patrick Dixon, I found more than 500,000 web pages talk about Patrick Dixon and his ideas, with cumulative TV, radio and press audience reach estimated to be more than 450 million. He has been ranked one of the 20 most influential business thinkers alive today. So his research and views given may not be completely unbiased, but they give a lot of information in the many different areas of human cloning, giving alternatives for the use of the cloning technology. And ethical and social reasons people may not be willing to let human cloning happen.

5. Written by a science editor, around 2009. Written in the telegraph newspaper within the "science" section. This piece is a valid unbiased piece, having being produced by a science editor who understands the science and can portray it in a non-biased way.

Image 1: http://cloning-scientificcontroversy.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/how-does-human-cloning-work-diagram.html

Image 2: hhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3076911/ns/health-cloning/t/cloning-how-why-why-not/

Image 3: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3076915/ns/health-special_reports/t/cloning-cures/#.T3SIJGH2a8A