Genetic Engineering in Human Beings

For this reason, many saws have been passed in an effort to ban human cloning. The technology may be scary, but for most it is an issue of ethics and moral values. I believe it is morally wrong to create an exact replica of another person unless it is naturally occurring, such as my sisters who are identical twins. When I think about the possibilities of genetic engineering, ask myself, "Are we playing God? ". Although this is a question each person must answer for himself based on personal values.

However, in my opinion, genetic engineering of humans is morally wrong, dangerous, and will lead to a problematic society.So where did it all start? The first cloning experiments were attempted In 1952 by two developmental biologists named Robert Briggs and Thomas King, at the Institute for Cancer Research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The scientists used a cloning process that had initially been suggested in 1938 by a German scientist named Hans Spaceman. The men conducted the experiments with skin cells extracted from frog embryos, and they used a technique known as nuclear transplantation. In turn, the process developed a surgical procedure called nucleation. This means an egg cell's nucleus is moved and replaced with the nucleus of a parent cell.

The new nucleus in the egg encompasses the equivalent chromosomal material as the parent cell, and then, the fertilized egg converts into an embryo. Now, we have an exact replica, or "clone", of the parent organism. In 1 966, an English biologist named John Gordon initiated the process of nuclear transplantation. In result, he was able to create adult frogs by using nuclei from tadpole intestine cells. Thus, any variety of cell may be utilized to construct an exact reproduction of that organism.

An easier cloning practice, known as artificial twinning, began in the sass.This method consisted of splitting an early embryo into singular cells, which transpires naturally when mothers give birth to twins. In turn, each cell develops into its own embryo, which is placed in the womb of a "host mother" until birth. This type of cloning seems to be more widely accepted than does nuclear transplantation, for obvious reasons.

The public was quick to respect this process, because, according to Joel Best, scientists are viewed as experts who have special knowledge and access to particularly strong evidence, so their views deserve respect.In the sass, nuclear transplantation had been utilized to clone many different species such as frogs and mice, but it had proven nearly impossible to clone larger animals using this method. After many failures in their attempts to clone large mammals, scientists believed that the process proved ineffective simply because the cells of the larger animals were too specialized to clone. In 1 996, at the Rossini Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland, a team of scientists led by embryologist Ian Willet were successful in their attempts to produce the clone of an adult sheep.They used a procedure called somatic cell nuclear transfer in which they took cells room the mammary-glands of an adult sheep and then positioned the cells in a solution which starved the cells of nutrients and stunted their growth for a few days. After that, a spark of electricity was used to fuse each mammary cell with an enucleated egg cell.

The cells were then allowed to grow into embryos, and were finally transplanted into surrogate mother ewes. Many of the cells would not grow into embryos, and if they did, many Of those embryos died. Many of the lambs were born with abnormalities and died.Finally, in July, 1996, they were finally successful in their attempts when a lamb named Dolly, survived. This obviously was an incredible breakthrough, but it has caused more trepidations and uncertainties than ever imagined, and as a result of those concerns and fears, the governments of virtually every country on the planet that have cloning capabilities have passed laws to regulate cloning.

Although there have been more successful cloning experiments since Dolly the sheep, this breakthrough proved that the notion of creating the exact replica of a mammal was no longer a notion, and had become a reality.With that breakthrough, many fears began to develop in our society, some outlandish and some realistic. Laws have been passed in order to assure that those fears would not be realized. In 1990, Germany became one of the first countries to pass a law called the Federal Embryo Protection Act (Haggle, 135). This law banned the cloning or the reproduction of an embryo that is identical to any other embryo, fetus, or other living or dead person.

In addition to Germany's ban on cloning, many other European countries followed with cloning legislation of their own, either banning the replication of a human being, or banning all forms of human cloning. Under Danish law, not only is the cloning of human beings banned, UT also it is illegal to use the somatic cell transfer, the same method that was used to clone Dolly, under any circumstances. Many more European countries, members of the Council of Europe, have signed the first international treaty banning the cloning Of humans, but not banning the cloning of individual cells for research purposes only (Haggle, 135).After Dolly was successfully cloned and lived in 1 996, President Clinton passed a law that banned the use of Federal funding in the research of human cloning.

Bills were then passed in California on February 28, 1997 and n Florida on March 7, 1997, which both stated that it was explicitly illegal to conduct any research using cloned cells or tissue (Sorrels, 1889). Many more states followed their lead and banned human cloning as well. Federal legislation in the U. S.

Seemed rather weak up to that point, and in June 1997 came the Cloning Prohibition Act of 1997, explicitly banning the exploration of and cloning of humans (Sorrels, 1889).After this law was passed, it was stated by The National Bioethics Advisory Commission "it is morally unacceptable for anyone in the public or private sector, whether in a research or clinical eating, to attempt to create a child using somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning" (NBC Report, 104). Although the Cloning Prohibition Act of 1997 did state that it was prohibited to clone a human being, this legislation did not make it illegal to clone individual human cells. Although some states passed their own cloning legislation, the Cloning Prohibition Act of 1 997 did not prohibit the cloning of genes, cells, molecules, plants or animals.

This was mainly because that technology has been used for several decades and has cured many diseases and solved many essential health issues and is expansible for much agricultural advancement as well. Some of the most remarkable medical advancements are the advancements made in cancer, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis treatments. On a farm in Blackburn, Vat a cow, through genetic manipulation, produces milk that carries a human protein which may prove to be useful in making drugs. Thankfully, for the world of medicine and agriculture in the U. S. There have been no Federal bans thus far that would not allow for our advancement in those specific areas.

Many biotech companies and many universities around the United States still receive Federal funds for cloning research, but it is either for medical or agricultural purposes. Obviously, as our world population grows and more food and more efficient medical care are needed, the world's governments must find a way to provide for its people. It is more likely that the human race will succeed through the use of biotechnology and genetic engineering.Without these important fields, the world may one day be without the proper amounts of food and medical care that are needed to sustain the population growth that it faces. With the advancement of biotechnology and genetic engineering, the world may still be able to provide or many more billions of people, even with the loss of important resources that are needed to produce what is needed.

We must accept the fact that the cloning and genetic manipulation of plants and animals is very necessary to our continued survival on this planet.We have most likely exceeded the planet's carrying capacity for humans, but barring an apocalypse, our population should continue to grow and expand. The only way that our planet can support those people is with the help of science. The cloning and genetic manipulation of human beings is a very deep moral issue that we all must address.

It is something that may not only be wrong, but also could be potentially dangerous by giving people too much power. I think that genetic engineering is interfering with natural processes like the random selection of genes for talents and looks passed from parent to offspring.Back to the question of "playing God": the answer is yes. I don't think people should be able to manipulate the genes of their children. This absolutely goes against the forces of nature and defeats the purpose of accepting ourselves the way we are. It's important to think about how destructive genetic engineering in human beings could be.

Our society would eternally be divided! Wealthy people would be able to afford this technology, while lower classes wouldn't. In other words, some people would be "superhuman" and in result we would suffer from a new era of discrimination and prejudice.In the 1 sass, nuclear transplantation had been used to clone many different species such as frogs and mice but it had proven nearly impossible to clone larger animals using this method. After many failures in their attempts to clone large mammals, scientists believed that they had been unsuccessful simply because the cells of the larger animals were too specialized to clone. In 1 996 at the Rossini Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland, a team of scientists led by embryologist Ian Willet were successful in their attempts to produce the clone of n adult sheep.They used a procedure called somatic cell nuclear transfer in which they took cells from the mammary-glands of an adult sheep and then placed the cells in a solution which starved the cells of nutrients and stunted their growth for a few days.

After that, a spark of electricity was used to fuse each mammary cell with an enucleated egg cell. The cells were then allowed to grow into embryos, and were finally transplanted into surrogate mother ewes.Many of the cells would not grow into embryos, and if they did, many of those embryos died. Many of the lambs were born with abnormalities and died. Finally, in July, 1 996, they were finally successful in their attempts when a lamb named Dolly, survived. This obviously was an incredible breakthrough, but it has caused more concerns and fears than ever imagined, and as a result of those concerns and fears, the governments of virtually every country on the planet that have cloning capabilities have passed laws to regulate cloning.

Although there have been more successful cloning experiments since Dolly the sheep, this breakthrough proved that the notion of creating the exact replica of a mammal was no longer a notion, and had come a reality. With that breakthrough, many fears began to develop in our society, some outlandish and some realistic. Laws have been passed in order to assure that those fears would not be realized. In 1990, Germany became one of the first countries to pass a law called the Federal Embryo Protection Act (Haggle, 135).

This law banned the cloning or the reproduction of an embryo that is identical to any other embryo, fetus, or other living or dead person. In addition to Germany's ban on cloning, many other European countries followed with cloning legislation of their own, either banning the application of a human being, or banning all forms of human cloning. Under Danish law, not only is the cloning of human beings banned, but it is also illegal to use the somatic cell transfer, the same method that was used to clone Dolly, under any circumstances.Many more European countries, members of the Council of Europe, have signed the first international treaty banning the cloning of humans, but not banning the cloning of individual cells for research purposes only (Haggle, 135). After Dolly was successfully cloned and lived in 1996, President Clinton passed a law that banned the use of Federal funding in the research of human cloning. Bills were then passed in California on February 28, 1997 and in Radio on March 7, 1997, which both stated that it was explicitly illegal to conduct any research using cloned cells or tissue (Sorrels, 1889).

Many more States followed their lead and banned human cloning as well. Federal legislation in the U. S. Seemed rather weak up to that point, and in June 1 997 came the Cloning Prohibition Act of 1997, explicitly banning the research of and cloning of humans (Sorrels, 1889). After this law was passed, it was stated by The National Bioethics Advisory Commission "it is morally unacceptable for anyone in the public or private sector, whether in a research or clinical setting, to attempt to create a child using somatic cell nuclear transfer cloning" (NBC Report, 104).Although the Cloning Prohibition Act of 1 997 did state that it was illegal to clone a human being this legislation did not make it illegal to clone individual human cells.

Although some states passed their own cloning legislation, the Cloning prohibition Act of 1997 did not prohibit the cloning of genes, cells, molecules, plants or animals. This was mainly because that technology has been used for overall decades and has cured many diseases and solved many important health issues and is responsible for much agricultural advancement as well.Some of the most notable medical advancements are the advancements made in cancer, diabetes, and cystic fibrosis treatments. On a farm in Blackburn, Va, a cow, through genetic manipulation, produces milk that carries a human protein which may prove to be useful in making drugs.

Those particular areas. Many biotech companies and many universities around the United States still receive Federal funds for cloning research, but it is either for medical or agricultural purposes.Obviously, as our world but also could be potentially dangerous by giving people too much power. Before we make our assumptions though about human or animal cloning, we must first become educated and learn more about this new technology.

Many people make the wrong assumptions and conjure up images Of mutants as the result of cloning experiments gone wrong. Make those assumptions if you like, but before you do so, attempt to educate yourself about what cloning really is, what its uses are, and why we do it, whether that be for medical or agricultural purposes.