Cloning Humans: Science and Society

Cloning Humans: Science and Society

Although several types of cloning exist, including DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning, the type that is most often referred to as "cloning" in science textbooks and the mass media is reproductive cloning. This is the type of cloning necessary to produce one animal from another animal that is either currently alive, or has lived previously (U.S. Department of Energy). Of course, animals already have a way of producing other animals, procreation. Cloning differs from procreation in that a cloned animal shares nuclear DNA with the other animal. In fact, the cloned animal would be nearly a carbon copy of the original animal. Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned; she was born in 1996 and died in 2003 (U.S. Department of Energy). The process of cloning mammals like Dolly is complex, but is rather simple in principal. In a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, scientists will take the DNA from the first cell, that of the previously existing animal, to an egg with a blank nucleus, or a nucleus with no genetic material. After transplanting the genetic material, the egg containing the DNA undergoes therapy to induce cell division. Finally, the embryo resulting from this implantation, once it is viable, is transferred to the uterus of a surrogate (U.S. Department of Energy).

While this process may seem relatively simple, as easy as moving material from one host to the next, it is actually very difficult to achieve. In fact, many problems have ensued during attempts to clone animals. Probably the most obvious problem is the fact that the clone is not an exact carbon copy of the original contributor. Instead, the clone only has some of the blank cell's genetic material, as the mitochondria in the cytoplasm supply this information (U.S. Department of Energy). Other problems associated with animal cloning include the "reprogramming phase. Before Dolly's debut, many scientists thought that a cell was predestined to be a certain body part -- a "liver, heart, udder, bone," etc. After Dolly's creation, however, scientists were able to determine that these cells can be reprogrammed to become different body parts. However, "errors or incompleteness in the reprogramming process can cause high rates of death, deformity, and disability observed among animal clones" (U.S. Department of Energy). Despite these errors and the problems ensuing from animal cloning, scientists have been able to advance the process to accomplish astounding heights. For example, Reuters recently reported that scientists were able to clone mice who had been frozen for up to 16 years. According to the news agency, this has implications for extinct animals, such as mammoths ("Frozen mice cloned"). In fact, scientists are currently grappling with the idea of using cloning on many extinct or endangered species ("Cloning: saving the endangered species").

Dolly is not the only animal that scientists have been able to clone. In fact, Reuters reported mammals from cattle to dogs have been cloned, and that livestock breeders hope to use cloning on order to "start elite herds of desirable animals" ('Frozen mice cloned"). If scientists have had so much success cloning animals, many wonder why they have not yet attempted to clone humans, as these mammals must not present an enormous challenge to scientists whose cloning procedure has worked on a large variety of species. The answer to why humans have not been cloned is complex. Many have reservations to the practice for scientific and moral reasons. First, some believe that scientists do not know enough about cloning to attempt the process with correct safety precautions. Second, some have moral concerns about the welfare of the cloned child, replacing the dead, genetic diseases, and social impacts, in addition to religious arguments and other concerns (Devolder). For these reasons, a debate has ensued over whether or not cloning will happen in our lifetime. Personally, I believe cloning will happen in my lifetime. According to Time Magazine, some scientists have already claimed that they have created clones. Many other scientists not only believe human cloning can happen, but they also support it (Gibbs et al.). This being said, many of the scientists who fully support cloning in this way are not in the United States. Thus, while I believe cloning will happen in my lifetime, I do not think it will happen in the United States. The climate in the United States is too full of differing opinions to manage this fete in my lifetime.