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What is Cloning?
In biology, cloning is the process of creating a new multicellular organism through copies of DNA fragments. It is a form of asexual reproduction wherein fertilization does not take place in the creation of an organism genetically identical to another.
Animal Cloning
Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell. Though not the first organism to be cloned (the first being a tadpole in 1952).
Dolly gained worldwide renown and scientific significance for proving that a specific organ cell (an udder cell in this case) could develop into a whole new individual.
The process of reproductive cloning, used to produce a genetically identical organism, involves the transfer of a nucleus from a donor cell to an egg with no nucleus. As the egg begins to divide normally, it is then transferred to the womb of a surrogate mother.
Reproductive cloning technology results in an organism that has the same nuclear DNA as an existing animal, but not an identical clone.
Cloning extinct and endangered species has been the dream of many nostalgic scientists. Dramatized by Jurassic Park, genetic researchers have made several attempts at extracting DNA from frozen extinct animals, such as the woolly mammoth. There has been some successful cloning from endangered species in recent years.
Using a cow as a surrogate mother, an Asian gaur, a large bovine animal, was successfully cloned in 2001. This was followed by the cloning of African wildcats a few years later. The technique of using surrogate mothers of another species as host has sparked hope in the cloning of species already extinct.
In fact, a “Frozen Zoo” has been set up at the San Diego Zoo to store frozen tissue of today’s endangered species.
Still, the cloning of extinct species faces some scientific and ethical considerations. Many conservationists oppose cloning of endangered species for ethical and practical considerations. They believe – and rightly so – that the key to keeping endangered species alive is through preserving their habitat and preventing hunting and poaching. Cloning would only be a short-term solution to the vast problem of environmental degradation.
Human Cloning
The much celebrated success of Dolly, whom Science magazine hailed as the breakthrough of 1997, also generated scientific and ethical concerns about its possible aftermath – one of which is human cloning. Human cloning is the production of an identical human from one previously existing. Contrary to popular myths, human cloning does not produce a carbon copy of an individual nor would a grown person magically reappear.
Human cloning is of two types: therapeutic and reproductive. Therapeutic cloning involves the cloning of cells for the purpose of medicine or research. This does not create another human being but is used to harvest stem cells for research to treat presently incurable diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Reproductive cloning, on the other hand, involves the creation of a cloned human. The latter is considered illegal and has not been performed. The first successful human clone was created in 1998. A human leg cell was transplanted into a cow’s egg but was destroyed days after, before the embryo could come to full term.
The effects of human cloning in the future are both beneficial and dangerous. Concerns have been raised from the future possibility of being able to harvest organs from clones or growing a human organ in another animal for transplant. Human cloning is very controversial and many demand for it to be discontinued.
Ethical Issues of Human Cloning
The technological advancements of animal cloning and stem cell research have also raised some profound religious, legal and ethical issues. The Catholic Church and traditionalist religions oppose all forms of cloning while many believe that a human clone should not be used to save the life of another.
As of the present, the development of cloning has raised more questions than answers. Is it “playing with nature?” Does the creation of stem cells for research to save lives justify the killing of a human embryo? How should cloning research be regulated? Do the benefits of human cloning prevail over the destruction of dignity?
Debates on these and other issues have been long withstanding and no consensus has been reached. Ultimately, the answers – and the future of cloning – will depend on the opinion of today’s generation. We decide.
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