Cloning

How can we stop people from practicing the universal right of searching for happiness? If we do it, we would be selfish. That's why cloning could be a solution to that dilemma. We should proceed this debate with the history of cloning. The modern era of laboratory cloning began in 1958 when F.C. Steward cloned carrot plants from mature single cells placed in a nutrient culture containing hormones. The first cloning of animal cells took place in 1964. John B. Gurdon took the nuclei from tadpoles and injected them into unfertilized eggs.

The nuclei containing the original parents' genetic information had been destroyed with ultraviolet light. When the eggs were incubated, Gurdon discovered that only 1% to 2% of the eggs had developed into fertile adult toads. The first successful cloning of mammal was achieved nearly twenty years later. Scientists from Switzerland and the U.S successfully cloned mice using a method similar to Gurdon's. In 1993 the first human embryos were cloned using a technique that placed individual embryonic cells in a nutrient culture where the cells then divided into 48 new embryos. These fertilized eggs did not develop to a stage that could be used for transplantation into a human uterus.
WHAT IS CLONING?
Cloning is the creation of an organism that is an exact copy of another. There are different types of cloning. A basic understanding of the different types of is the key to taking an informed stance on current public policy issues and making the best personal decisions.

WHAT IS A CLONE?
As per biology, a clone is a cell or an organism that is genetically identical to another cell or organism. Many simple organisms such as bacteria reproduce themselves by copying their DNA and splitting in half. The two bacteria that result from this form of asexual reproduction are genetically similar, they are clones of each other. In contrast, during the process of sexual reproduction, the nucleus of a sperm cell, which carries the father's DNA, fuses with the nucleus of an egg cell, which contains the mother's DNA. The resulting offspring carry genetic material from both parents and are not identical to either parent.

The verb ''to clone'' refers to the process of creating cloned cells or organisms. The process differs, depending on the kinds of cells used in the cloning procedure and the desired result. Usually, when scientists clone an animal, they take the nucleus of a cell (which contains chromosomes made of deoxyribonucleic acid-DNA and proteins) and place it into an egg cell (also called oocyte) from which the nucleus had been removed. The egg cell then divides to produce an embryo that develops into an animal, if the procedures work as planned.

WHAT IS HUMAN CLONING?
A "human clone" is a time-delayed identical twin of another person. A clone is not an exact replica of the original, but just a much younger identical twin. As with identical twins, the clone and the original being will have different set of fingerprints. Ever since Dolly's (the cloned sheep) birth in 1997 shocked an unexpecting world, Governments have been busy trying to prevent the advent of human cloning. There is also the fear that someone would create armies of soldiers or even produce large amounts of workers. This could create lower class for clones and compromising individualities.