This isn't that cloning always means creation of a new individual. Cloning technology has got plenty of usefulness. Lets say an example..
A person's liver is damaged sevely due to cirrhosis. It can not be replaced without killing other healthy human. As everyone has only one liver in 'stock' nobody can donate it. What remains in option? Transplantation from other species like chimpanzee. This option is only temporary and the person will survive only for few days or months. His own immune system will start rejecting the transplanted organ saying it of foreign origin.

Who comes to rescue in this situation is cloning technology. A small healthy portion of cells from patient's
liver can be sliced away by operation and grown in laboratory condition. One of these cells can be fused with an egg from a donor and allowed to multiply quickly. The lump of cells can be quickly transformed into liver using stem cell and tissue culture techniques. (stem cell are capable of developing into any organ or tissue).
The liver grown in such way can be transplanted to patient. His body does not reject this piece of tissue, as it contains antigenic protein from his own body (although egg was from a different donor).
The patient will survive ultimately.
Now here comes the ethics part. Since the new organ is developed in-vitro or in laboratory condition, it can not be regarded as a life-form, even though its origin is an human egg. During menstrual cycle one egg dies every month. Instead of wasting it, it can be used to save one person's life. And as heavensounds said about foetus being killed during abortion and ethics committee doesn't seem to bother about it. It just shows partiality to the new and life saving technology.
The false concerns in general public about possible misuses of cloning, is baseless and remains miles ahead in future.
Even if Bill gates clones himself, He and His clone will die together in normal death, as telomere length
will be same for both individuals. So nobody will get benefitted eventually in such misdeeds.

We hould not worry about misuses of a technology much. Computers have been of so much use to humans. There is still fuss about possible taking global control by machines or computers. An't we are still using it?

 

 

 

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having watched the tv show Surface gives me this idea that cloning is really not that humane. I am a Catholic so still believe in the natural way of creative lives and that is by procreation. Still I would certainly respect other peoples stand on this.

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I'm not really sure what the point of cloning is... I thought they didn't live as long like Dolly the sheep. I mean sure, it would help infertile couples but can't they just adopt? Wouldn't that be better?!

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Yep. Its true that clones have same natural age. Chromosome has its ends called telomere. The length of it reduces everytime a cell divides. This is because of a kind of defect in cell replication mechanism. Most of the healthy cells can overcome this defect by invoking a repair mechanism, but as and when human age progresses, the repair mechanism fails and telomere length becomes shortr and shorter. Eventually it leads to what called ageing.
Since clone is derived from same donor, the telomere length in father and clone remains same. Therefore, under normal or usual death sequence, theoritically father and clone should die simultaneously.
I wanted to convey this fact in earlier post, but it was llittle more scientific.

 

 

 

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I don't know if we should be creating life. I'm fine with people creating animals and stuff. But do we really want people creating people? I mean that can be more problems then needed. And think of all the religious things you have to think about. God created men, men shouldn't be able other men.

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It seems we're moving towards the subject of cloning body parts and stem cell research. In a way it is cloning, stem cells are undifferentiated cells that still have the ability to divide into other cell types. Stem cells have the ability to act as a regeneration cell for the body. As of right now, the goal is to grow organs like hearts, livers, lungs, etc. But stem cells come from embryonic cells which people can argue, kills unborn people, do you think this is considered men making other men grnjd?

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I am Christian so I am against cloning. But if they must clone people, could they at least do it in a way where only organs are grown and the "being" the organs are grown in does not have a mind of its own? So many people would be saved from dying because no hearts or lungs were available.

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Cloning is extremly dangerous if it is used for the wrong perpouses, just imagine what our world would be if cloning was legalized and practiced all over the world. for example someone can kill a certain politician then clone him and the clone his own ideals and policies. fortunatly this world is far in the future because about 90% of the cloning attempts to animals are a failure so it is virtualy impossible to clone humans with the current technology as humans have more complex and more elaborated DNA.

The most important thing lies in the ethicks of current and future generation of scientists and researchers who will decide whether there actions will have a positive or negative impact on the world and humanity.

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You seem to have a wrong impression about cloning technology as do common men in the world. Aclone need not look like or behave like the original. A persons behaviour or look depends on thousands of other factors, such as upbringing, environment and education. For example, if someone clones Osama, the clone need not turn a terrorist in future if he is educated in US. Second, he will die prematurely. If Osama's age is 55 now and his genes are programmed to go into "programmed cell death" or Apoptosis after 70 years of age, the clone will die natural death after 70-55=15 years.
Second example that I can site is cloning a hollywood actor/actress or a famous singer. Their clone need not turn to be flumboyant in time. They may be shy cant sing well if they are not given the growing environment exactly identical to original.
Isn't that interesting how nature has made all firewalls to hackers? Cloning technology isn't an evil thing but we must start using it for good purposese like life-saving techniques.

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As some have already said, any new technology brings good things and bad things. As a scientific advance, it's a good thing. I just would insist to invest and work hard on ways to see how the future would be after releasing any new thing out there. I'm sure nobody thought at the beggining that cars would be a treat to our enviroment. Or if someone did, what a shame!! Related to this, I remember that money is a powerful thing that can change the course of history, no matter who gets injured some times.

To me, it is a matter of education and moral values, but I'm not talking about religion.

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