I always thought about is there was someone exactly like me in the world when I was younger. But now I know that this is not possible because every human being is different in every way. How could would it be though to have another you in the world? We have been exposed to “cloning” in TV shows and movies in a fake way but the biggest question is whether or not this is possible in real life. The fact of the matter is that research has shown that clone could be very possible in years to come.
What is Cloning?
Let’s get an understanding of what cloning actually is first. According to Medical Daily, “cloning describes a number of processes used to create genetically identical copies of a biological entity.” When we think of cloning, most of us associate it to copying something and recreating the identical version of it whether it’s a person, animal, etc.
So, is it possible?
First, scientists and researchers have already made a big discovery by cloning human embryos and recreating stem cells. This is a fantastic discovery made by them and not that long ago we would have never thought this would have been possible! Since the 1950s scientists have cloned many different animal species including mice, cow, pig, sheep, and cats. The thing that all these animals have in common is that they are not primates. It is a lot more difficult to clone primates and the closest we’ve come is cloning a monkey in 1997. Dr. Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer at the biotech company Advanced Cell Technology, has had plenty of experience around these experiments.
His claim was that the researches encountered problems that needed to be solved with trial and error. It was very easy for scientists to acquire the eggs of the non-primates to conduct many different experiments and figure out the problems. However, eggs are very precious to primates and it is a lot harder for them to acquire and use for experiments. Another reason why it may be difficult is because cloning mice or a different animals does not translate into cloning human beings very easily. In cloning an animal, researchers need to remove a nucleus of an egg cell which causes them to extract proteins that are necessary to help cells divide. Lanza goes on to say that that basically in mice they are able to reproduce these proteins again but primates do not have this capability which is a big problem. Also, Lanza states that a lot of abnormalities can be encountered such as causing problems with blood flow in the fetus which is detrimental to a human being.
The biggest concern with this is how unethical it is to clone humans and Dr. Lanza says “it’s like sending your baby up in a rocket knowing there’s a 50-50 chance it’s going to blow up. It’s grossly unethical.” Dr. Lanza has a very intelligent position on this matter and the effects it has and you can read more about that here.
The Experiment
An experiment involvinig cloning was conducted and funded by Oregon Health and Science University. The researchers involved were “looking for a better way to make fresh human tissue for the treatment of severe injuries or disease.” They conducted a tissue-growing experiment where they removed DNA from and unfertilized human egg and inserted a patient’s skin cell that contains their DNA into that egg. After that, they used a chemical reaction to begin cell development and created a ball of 50 to 100 cells known as a blastocyst. A fetus can be formed from this and to find out more information about how that happens click here. Dr. Mitalipov, a developmental biologist at Oregon Health and Science University and a lead author of the study, said “various cell lines and tissues, including beating human heart cells” were formed with the assistance of growth chemicals. His main goal is to use cloning to treat diseases and his team will work hard to make that happen. They are still a ways away from cloning humans, nevertheless this was a big step for the future.
This picture shows the process of creating embryonic stem cells from human skin cells
I think after doing my research cloning is very possible in maybe 20 or so years. With technology advancing at such a rapid pace, discoveries will be made in the next decade that we would have NEVER thought would be possible. A lot of progress has been made revolving around cloning and I don’t think cloning humans is out of the question. Do you guys think cloning could very possibly happen in the near future or no way it will happen?
I completely agree with you that cloning is unethical. It is a very dangerous experiment and puts many people’s lives at risk, which is why over the next decade or so we need to do so very carefully. From an ethical standpoint, cloning is so inhumane and that’s why I think with the advancement of technology we will be able to find a way to clone without harming people. If we can clone for good purposes however like treating diseases, I think it is necessary to do what it takes to make this happen. This would be a huge advancement in our lifetime and I like what you about using a person’s DNA. If we are able to accomplish cloning by using that method and it is less harmful, I am all for doing that.
That’s a very interesting point. I think it is crazy to think we may have somebody who may look and act exactly the way we would. This is one of those concepts that definitely gets me thinking about it for a long time. It would be intriguing if someone were to do an experiment on dopplegangers to find out if they are in fact real or not. When I went to Seton Hall University my freshman year, there was somebody that looked exactly like me and people knew too. I thought that was crazy and never really thought about the odds of me seeing someone looking exactly like me.
I loved your post! I have always wondered about the experimenting that goes on with cloning and if scientists have taken this anywhere. Another route I think that would be interesting to dive into would be the idea of a doppleganger; knowing someone that is completely unrelated to you that shares multiple features that you do, causing you and that other person to look very similar, twin like. I would want to know why and how dopplegangers exist and if they are actually real or if our eyes just make similar features look extra similar when we want them to. Great post, it really got me thinking about DNA and how humans are all so different but yet so similar and can share types of genes that create our body shapes and features.
I agree with you that regarding the fast pace of technology develop, human- being cloning can become reality in the future. However, I do not think that it will be a easy step on a moral level. Actually, like you said in the post, we have already mastered the technology of cloning cells and a fetus can be nurtured based on that, but the problem is that a great many people argue that cloning people is unethical. An article states that “The response of most scientific and political leaders to the prospect of human cloning, indeed of Dr. Wilmut (who successfully cloned a sheep from a signal cell) as well, was of immediate and strong condemnation.” The core of the ethical problem is people try to clone humans mainly to cure diseases and save people. This point is similar with what you mentioned in the blog– Dr. Mitalipov’s main goal is to use cloning to treat diseases. However, this means sometimes transplanting good organs from the cloned person to the original person who needs the organ and the result may the original person is able to continue living healthily while the colored person may end up dying. Cloned people are also lives, and they should be treated equally as all other human- beings, so it becomes a controversial problem whether cloning people is ethical. From my perspective, actions like transplanting organs should not be allowed, but using a person’s DNA to clone and grow some healthy tissues or cells to replace the harmed ones in the person’s body is free of ethical debates and is actually a good way to address health problems and may become the trend in future medical field.