Cloning in the Scientific Field - Term Paper Example

?Cloning The twentieth century served to be a period of much research and innovations in the scientific field. These processes and researches were carried ahead in the twenty first century. Stem cell research and cloning are some of the most important techniques. Cloning is a scientific research which has been central to many debates and arguments. Cloning is a process through which identical organisms are created. This is achieved through asexual reproduction in which only one parent is involved and no fusion of gametes occurs. This is the very reason that an identical clone is formed through this process. The future of cloning depends totally on the new researches which are being done. Cloning so far has not been successful as it was expected. A sheep dolly was cloned in the year 1996 and it was considered as one of the most successful cloning experiment on an animal. Cloning has never showed any positive results on human beings. Cloning has been approved by many scientists and groups who argue that it holds the potential for many benefits for human beings and can serve to provide results and treatments that other methods have failed to provide. On the other hand, cloning has been rejected on the basis of ethical considerations. It has faced social as well as religious criticism owing to many reasons which include the fact that cloning has not yielded any major benefits as yet and also it serves to challenge the normal working and equilibrium of the world (Human cloning 2011; Phil B). Cloning is a process which can be compared to the stem cell research. Extracting stem cells and using them for curing diseases uses the process of cloning. Currently many research therapies are being carried out to find the viability of the stem cells. A study done in New England Journal of Medicine validates the use of stem cells in the patients who are suffering from leukemias. The research undertook many patients into consideration who were suffering from leukemias and their treatment options. The research then compared the patients who were provided with stem cell transplants with those who were not and it was found that stem cell transplant from newborn babies were effective in treating these patients. Thus it was concluded that leukemias can be treated with effective treatment by adult stem cells based on the process of cloning (Leukemia Patients Survive with Stem Cell Transplant, 2004). Similarly another research done by the UC researchers showed that bone marrow stem cells can be used to effectively treat disorders which are related to the eye. These stem cells can greatly help to cure the genetic eye disorders in children. Research done by the UC researchers was carried out on animals and the tests were positive. This showed that stem cells may also effectively work on human subjects to cure eye disorders (Bone Marrow Stem Cells May Cure Eye Disease, 2007). Not only this, but it was also found that adult stem cells can be used to cure heart attacks by the British physicians. The new treatment helped the heart muscles to recover from the shock that the treatment received. In other words because of the patients own stem cells the patient could recover from a heart attack as their heart muscles could be revived (Julie Wheldon, 2006). Another research carried out on skin cells to make them act as the stem cells worked quite effectively in treating rats with diseases of the brain. Parkisons Disease is one of the examples which the rats were suffering from and showed improvement because of the stem cells. This clearly shows that embryonic stem cells which are considered to be the basic cells of an organism can provide a breakthrough in treatments of different diseases which were previously not curable. (Stem Cells from skin treat brain disease in Rats, 2008). Another research being carried out in Spain shows that stem cells can greatly help to treat genetic disorders such as the Crohn’s Disease. It was found that 20% of the patients on which the stem cell transplant was carried out showed improvement in their Crohn’s Disease (Sunyer, 2009). Lately the scientists have been able to clone a human virus known as Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV). This virus is known to cause lethal diseases in the human beings along with other malformations. With the cloning of the virus the scientists are able to experiment on it outside the human body. This process of cloning is believed to play a great role in developing anti-viral and vaccines against the virus. Through the process of cloning the genome sequences of the virus can be known which can help in the cure of many diseases that occur in the world (Cardiff University 2010). Cloning has received much publicity after its breakthrough of cloning an animal sheep Dolly in the year 1996 which provided hope in the technique to uphold the fact that it could yield major benefits to mankind that he himself was not aware of. Many scientists supported this technique and believed that it could actually work in areas of the medical and scientific field where other research had failed. Cloning is believed to be a method which can serve to treat many pathological conditions and enhance the quality of life of human beings (Phil; Tamara 2006). It is presented by scientists that cloning holds the potential of providing clones of organs of the body as well as blood which can assist in organ transplantation as well as blood transfusions. These procedures can serve as life saving measures for patients whose organs completely stop functioning or function in an improper way. It is also analyzed that cloning can be beneficial for infertile couples and assist them in having their own genetic children. It is also widely believed that certain diseases which include cancer can be treated if proper research and investment is done on the methods of cloning. It can also be beneficial to cosmetologists and plastics surgeons and provide with techniques to overcome the boundaries of age. Hence these factors explain the advantages that the procedure of cloning holds. Proponents of the technique believe that cloning holds rewards in the long term which will be very beneficial to mankind and assist in enhancing the living and quality of life of all human beings (Tamara 2006). Cloning has been opposed by many groups solely on the basis of the foundation of cloning, which is the invention of the sheep Dolly. Dolly was cloned successfully only after 276 failed attempts and it also could not survive for a very long period. Hence opponents argue that even after so much of hard work and investment, an animal clone was obtained which also had defects and could not survive and therefore work on this field would not yield much. Thus they use this as an example to explain the fact that Dolly which was considered to be a success for proponents of cloning is actually not a major breakthrough but just a step which also did not have any long term benefits. They further have this thought that human beings can never get any success in this process. They explain the fact that disturbances in genomes may result in altered clones which are not normal genetically and hence cloning could lead to disastrous results (Centre for Bioethics and Human Dignity 2002). Cloning has also faced religious criticism. The religious groups argue that cloning is a process in which the human beings are interfering with the will of god. This is because humans attempt to create other being which is the work of God and this can result in altering the normal living of mankind and the normal ritual of nature. Cloning has also been met with ethical implications. Ethical groups argue that the use of the embryos for the research which results in the destruction of most of them is not justified ethically because it is equivalent to destroying a potential life. They argue that for benefitting others it is not legal and ethical to kill embryos which can develop into human beings. The process of cloning requires many embryos for the research to be carried on. Also it has been found that women receive money in return for donating their ovum (Centre for Bioethics and Human Dignity 2002; Tamara 2006). The procedures utilized can have side effects on the health of the women which can include mild symptoms like nausea and other severe symptoms which serve to alter their normal fertility and reproductive system. Hence considering the fact that females from poor backgrounds may be exploited by these measures as they would donate their eggs in the hope of receiving money, cloning should not be allowed. These ethical, social and religious implications have led to many boundaries for the process of cloning and they all hold a strong point of their own for these restrictions (Tamara 2006). In my view cloning is a process which should receive a green signal and should not be banned considering the fact that the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages of the techniques. With the help of recent researches it can be clearly seen that cloning has helped to cure many diseases which were previously considered to be non-curable. With the help of cloning several viruses and genes can be cloned so that the scientists can experiment on these genes and viruses. These experiments then help the scientist to develop a cure for the disease that the virus poses to the society. It has been seen that cloning is the only process which can cure these diseases and it is for this reason that cloning should be continued. Cloning is a process which should be promoted in the society but the disadvantages that it poses should also be minimized on the same hand. Currently cloning is a controversial topic which is being debated all over the world. In my view a solution to all the problems of cloning should be sought so that the process can be promoted in the society (Tamara 2006). References Human Cloning Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.humancloning.org/ Phil B. Reasons For and Against Human Cloning. Phil for Humanity. Retrieved from http://www.philforhumanity.com/Human_Cloning.html Roleff, Tamara L. Cloning. Detroit, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Print. Why Human Cloning Must Be Banned Now. The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, 2002. Retrieved from http://www.cbhd.org/content/why-human-cloning-must-be-banned-now Julie Wheldon. 2006. Stem cell cure for heart attacks. Mail Online. < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-415156/Stem-cell-cure-heart-attacks.html> IDIBAPS - Institut d'Investigacions Biomediques August Pi i Sunyer (2009, February 21). New Therapy With Stem Cells To Treat Crohn's Disease. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090219105326.htm University of Cincinnati (2007, May 13). Bone Marrow Stem Cells May Cure Eye Disease.ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070510160859.htm Bottom of Form Top of Form University Hospitals Of Cleveland (2004, November 30). Leukemia Patients Survive With Stem Cell Transplant. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from Cardiff University (2010, September 14). Scientists 'clone' human virus responsible for congenital malformations and other life-threatening diseases. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 16, 2011, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100913111127.htm Read More