Cloning

While doing research for my last presentation on stem cell research, I came across a lot of information on the equally controversial subject of human and animal cloning. They are linked in controversy as well as the fact that as I will discuss later, these two sciences go hand in hand. For this presentation, however, I will focus on the cloning of humans and animals. I’ll first discuss a timeline of cloning and then go into the basic information of the different types of cloning and what they encompass. From there, I will discuss the benefits of this science as well as the hindrances and discuss those people who align themselves with either side. This topic is filled with controversy as well as many people with very strange ideas of what cloning is. There has been a lot of information about this topic in the news lately especially pertaining to a decision of the United Nations on whether or not to globally ban cloning. I’ll discuss the latest news reported about this decision and you can find links to these news articles at the end of this webpage.

As with the topic of stem cell research, there is an incredible amount of information. With this website as well as my presentation I do not pretend to know all of the information or have all the answers to every question. I will, however, do my best to provide the best information I can and provide you with places to find the answers to any questions I cannot answer.

Cloning: The Basics

The definition of cloning, according to the Genetic Science Learning Center is “the creation of an organism that is an exact genetic copy of another. This means that ever single bit of DNA is the same between the two!” There are three types of cloning which will be discussed later in fuller detail:

Throughout my research I’ve found a variety of instances in which scientists claim cloning first began. In an interactive slideshow called "The History of Cloning" from MSNC.com the following timeline has been adopted:

Year	Breakthrough	Year	Breakthrough
5000 B.C.	Early humans discover that if they plant seeds produced by the heartiest plants, the next crop will be a strong one. This is the first step in manipulating life to suit human needs, which is the ultimate goal of cloning.	1952	A tiny tadpole makes history as the first cloned animal. Using cells from a tadpole embryo, Robert Briggs and Thomas King create tadpoles identical to the original.
1972	Cloning steps down to the minute level with the first cloning of a gene. Scientists isolate the gene, and then bind it to an organism (in this instance a yeast) that incorporates the gene into its own DNA and multiplies, producing many copies of the desired gene.	1976	Cloning steps down to the minute level with the first cloning of a gene. Scientists isolate the gene, and then bind it to an organism (in this instance a yeast) that incorporates the gene into its own DNA and multiplies, producing many copies of the desired gene.
1978	The world clamors for a glimpse of Baby Louise, the first child conceived through in-vitro fertilization. Using the husband’s sperm, British doctors fertilize an egg in a petri dish, then implant the embryo in the uterus of the healthy woman.	1987	The first mammals, sheep and cows, are cloned from embryonic cells. But animals cloned from embryonic cells contain the genetic material of both parents because the embryos are sexually fertilized. Clones from embryonic cells from the same parents fertilized at different times are as different as brothers and sisters.
1997	Dolly the sheep, the world’s first mammal cloned from a cell of an adult animal, was born in 1996, but her existence isn’t revealed to the world until February 1997. Embryologist Ian Wilmut and colleagues at the Roslin Institute in Scotland clone Dolly from a cell taken from the udder of an adult ewe. In response to public concern, President Bill Clinton issues a moratorium on the use of federal funds for human cloning research.	1998	Scientists at the University of Hawaii clone more than 50 mice from adult cells, creating three generations of identical laboratory animals. Meanwhile, several independent teams of researchers successfully clone calves using differing techniques. Most notably, Japanese researchers produce eight genetically identical calves from the biopsied cells of an adult cow with a success rate of 80 percent -- making it the most efficient cloning endeavor to date.
2000	Oregon researchers reveal the existence of Tetra the cloned monkey. The rhesus macaque was cloned using a very different method than Dolly. Tetra was made by splitting a very early embryo -- consisting of only eight cells -- into four pieces. These were then nurtured into new embryos, but only one survived. So unlike Dolly, Tetra has both a mother and father and is a clone of neither, but is rather an artificial quadruplet. Additionally, the company that helped produce Dolly unveiled a litter of five cloned piglets. The company says herds of cloned pigs could one day provide a genetically engineered source of organ transplants for humans	2001	U.S. fertility specialist Panayiotis Zavos and a team of international scientists announced in March that hundreds of couples had volunteered for an experiment to create cloned children. The team said it was poised to help infertile couples bare clones as early as 2003. Additionally, Britain became the first country to effectively legalize the cloning of human embryos in January, when the government approved a controversial measure aimed at allowing research on stem cells found in embryos. The clones created under the new regulations would have to be destroyed after 14 days, and the creation of babies by cloning would remain outlawed.
2002	Texas A&M researchers announce in February that they have cloned a domestic cat for the first time. The calico-and-white female -- named "cc," for "CopyCat" -- is a twin of her genetic "mother," but her fur has a different pattern because of developmental factors. The advance marks another step toward the routine cloning of household pets.	2003	In August, Italian scientists say they have created the world’s first cloned horse, Prometea, from an adult cell taken from the horse who gave birth to her. Earlier in the year, six-year-old Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal, is given a lethal injection after signs of progressive lung disease are discovered.
2004	Therapeutic cloning Fertility expert Dr. Panayiotis Zavos says he has transferred a cloned human embryo into a woman. He later announces that the experiment failed. In February, South Korean and U.S. researchers say they have cloned a human embryo and extracted from it sought-after cells called embryonic stem cells. The experiment is the first published report of cloned human stem cells and means so-called therapeutic cloning is no longer a theory but a reality
			Taken from MSNBC.com (5)

These are just a highlight of some of the most important breakthroughs of cloning and is not an exhaustive list.

Embryonic--cloning-to-produce-children—According to Religious Tolerance.org, embryonic cloning “is a medical technique which produces monozygotic (identical) twins or triplets. It duplicates the process that nature uses to produce twins or triplets.” The process entails the removal of one or more cells “from a fertilized embryo and encouraged to develop into one or more duplicate embryos.” Twins or triplets are formed each having the exact same DNA.

According again to the Religious Tolerance information, embryonic cloning dates back to the 1970s and has been involved in animal breeding since the ‘80s. The first instance of human cloning is not specifically known (11).

Reproductive – This cloning technique is intended to create the duplicate of an existing animal and so far has been used to clone a sheep as well as other animals as I will discuss later. DNA from an ovum is taken and placed with the DNA from the cell already removed from an adult animal. Now called a pre-embryo, the fertilized ovum is implanted within the womb and allowed to develop through gestation. Although mostly illegal throughout the world, the use of this technique on humans has the ability to produce the twin of a person. For reasons in which include genetic defects, the use of this on humans has been mostly considered to be totally unethical and immoral (11).

Therapeutic—Identical to the initial stages of the procedure of reproductive cloning, this cloning technique is intended to produce tissue and/or organs. The stem cells that are removed from the pre-embryo would be coaxed into tissues or organs and replaced into the same person who provided the DNA. The main goal of therapeutic cloning is to provide a healthy copy of an organ or tissue for a sick person to make them well. It would take away the necessity of relying on donor patients, which can sometimes be a deadly crutch. Because the DNA would be that of the sick person’s, there would be no fear of organ rejection and no need for immunosuppressant drugs (11).

As with any controversial subject, there are two sides: those that are for this science and those who oppose it. First, there are the obvious benefits.

For example, let’s take a heterosexual couple that is unable to have children because of the sterility of the husband. Taking the ovum from the woman and combining it with the cell from the man would define the use of reproductive cloning. In this case, both the man and woman could contribute to the production of their very own child without the use of a sperm donor. As I mentioned in the case of therapeutic cloning, organs and tissues made up of the very DNA of a sick person would cut out the use of organ donors and provide a much better chance for the person to be healthy. Using a list compiled by the Genetic Science Learning Center, here are some more benefits to the use of cloning:

1. Cloning for Medical Purposes: Such as the case of therapeutic cloning. One instance could be cloning of animals in order to study disease. Much of the time, genetically altered animals are used to test for possible cures for human beings. The creation of transgenic animals, those with also components of human biology, is very time consuming and requires numerous generations of breeding. The ability to clone would cut down on the trial and error process of creating the transgenic model and allow for a continuous supply (3).

3. Reproducing a Deceased Pet: Later on I’ll discuss CC, a cloned domestic cat. It’s possible, with the right amount of money, there is a company willing to clone your pet, although as of the research I’ve come across, no dogs have yet to be cloned (3).

4. Cloning Humans: This is where people tend to become even more skeptical. And even though there seem to be some interesting benefits to cloning humans, others seem to add more fuel to the fire. The one sure-fire benefit revolved around giving infertile couples the ability to have their own child made up of each of them. First, however, we need to completely and totally remove the bugs from this science before we just go ahead and create human clones, this will be discussed further later (3).

So far, it seems that there are some real and true benefits to cloning. One of the main things that has popped up throughout my research was the fear of cloning Adolf Hiter. As I mentioned in my introduction, there are a lot of strange viewpoints and a general lack of information on what cloning is. Let’s just say for a second that there is some DNA of Hitler stored somewhere in cryogenic storage (it would’ve had to have been preserved properly or it they wouldn’t be able to be used: they’d have had to have been living cells and they would’ve had to have been extracted soon after death). For this clone to be exactly like Hitler, he would have to be raised in the same womb to look the same as well as be raised in the same environment and brought up in exactly the same circumstances for him to become exactly like the original. It seems that a lot of the controversy about cloning comes from absurd ideas such as the cloning of Hitler and an entire Hitler army. The more absurd the ideas get the less amount of actual science is placed within the argument.

While reading an article produced by Charles Murray, I came across an interesting argument detailing what should be done politically about cloning. To paraphrase, the article describes critical arguments and their range from ingrained morals to ethical standpoints, several of which point to the reason why cloning should be banned. Critics claim that cloning with humans will create some master race and armies of humans with elite bodies and elite minds. Science and technology have falsified these claims and many others, but several critics seem to propound theories after theories of controversial claims that have yet to be proven by science. One unfortunate drawback to the lack of the study of cloning in the United States is that many doctors and biomedical companies are leaving the United States in pursuit of establishing a biomedical company in other countries like China or Barbados, where there are no laws limiting cloning. From my standpoint, and this is essentially not a viewpoint, is that the United States needs to allow cloning, but allow the government to keep a look over it. Have companies use cloning in a different moralistic and ethical viewpoint. Keep biomedical studies in the United States, where the studies would be civilized and orderly, not in other countries where the studies would throw no caution to the wind to worry about morals or ethics. What I am saying is that the critics who claim that cloning should be outlawed, are not essentially seeing the whole picture. No government decree or law or regulation will limit science or technology, never will never has. People essentially need to be more open minded about this and realize that if cloning is developed in another country and not in the United States what are those ramifications? Looking back in history if we would have objected to studying the atomic bomb, and it’s benefits where would we be today? Would another country have developed the bomb, and held us in fear? Completely outlawing cloning will not accomplish anything, but allowing cloning to develop under a closely maintained and watchful eye, will be more beneficial (7).

Those affiliated with the Americans to Ban Cloning (ABC) have come up with the following list of reasons to argue for the passage of the Brownback-Landrieu Cloning Ban (4).

1. Cloning Exploits Women – In essence, the ABC claims “women are the ones who must donate the eggs for cloning. Each woman would be injected with super-ovulating drugs to increase the quantity of eggs she would produce. This places her at higher risk for ovarian cancer and other health hazards, as well as potentially damaging her fertility. Poor women in particular would be induced to sell their eggs to fill this massive demand. (4)”

2. Funding cloning is irresponsible – “Cloning therapies would be used with human embryonic stem cells. However, there are superior alternatives to those therapies. Adult stem cells have been shown to be extremely effective for therapy with human beings, while attempts at using embryonic stem cells have ended in miserable failure. Funds for research are limited. Responsible stewardship entails that promising research receive funds.” Basically, according to ABC, stem cell research has been a huge failure and you shouldn’t invest in anything that isn’t successful and a sure thing (4).

3. Cloning is like slavery – “Since cloned human beings are manufactured…their makers own them. But to permit one human being to own another is to lapse back into treating him or her as a slave.” The fear here is that by cloning oneself we are creating a being whom will be indebted to the “original” person. It’s as if we are creating a new race of slaves with our technology.

4. Cloning would destroy human community in the United States – “Cloning reduces a class of human beings to the status of objects and property, thereby denying them a place in the human community.” As with the previous argument, the idea of slavery and ownership is the fuel to this fire (4).

5. The compassionate choice is to oppose cloning – “Cloning advocates frequently try to paint opponents of cloning as uncompassionate toward the diseased and handicapped. This is false. By endorsing the already successful therapies derived from adult stem cells, cloning opponents promote cures for the suffering with no harm to anyone, including the human embryo.” I found this to be one of the most interesting arguments because it is true that we frequently hear about all of the diseases that the use of stem cell research and cloning research will be able to treat. This statement tries to account for the fact that people who oppose this research aren’t necessarily uncompassionate for those who are ill but are compassionate for human life from the beginning stages of a human embryo as well (4).

6. The Brownback/Landrieu bill permits the cloning of tissues, organs, and DNA – “The…bill bans any attempt at producing a human embryo by cloning. At the same time, the bill expressly permits certain kinds of cloning, with the crucial qualification that they may not result in the creation of a human embryo. Nothing…restricts areas of scientific research not specifically prohibited…including research in the use of nuclear transfer or other cloning techniques…(4)”

There are more reasons listed by the ABC and you can read them HERE. I chose those that I felt were the most important and relevant.

The following is a list from the Americans to Ban Cloning of some of the 67 countries who support a worldwide ban on the cloning of humans. The list in its entirety can be seen HERE.

Central African Republic	Chad
Chile	Costa Rica
Dominica	Dominican Republic
Ecuador	El Salvador
Ethiopia	Fiji
Guinea	Haiti
Honduras	Ireland
Italy	Kazakhstan
Kenya	Nicaragua
Nigeria	Norway
Panama	Paraguay
Philippines	Portugal
Spain	Uganda
The United States of America	Zambia

The following is another list taken from the ABC of countries who ban reproductive cloning but who allow research for cloning to be conducted without restriction. It is in its entirety.

Belarus	Belgium
Brazil	China
Cuba	The Czech Republic
Denmark	Estonia
Finland	Greece
Iceland	Japan
Latvia	Liechtenstein
Lithuania	The Republic of Korea
Singapore	Slovenia
South Africa	Sweden
Switzerland	Turkey
United Kingdom

There is so much information, so here are a few articles and other tidbits that didn't make it into my website. Enjoy!

Cloning

Kristin Green

Cloning: The Basics