Cloning could be used for the benefit or demise of the world, unforeseen problems may arise from cloned copies of plants, animals, or humans.

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Matt Skinner

5/30/09

Block 4

Biology: Mrs. Gilbert

                                        Against Cloning

      Have you ever looked in a mirror, and wondered what it would be like if you weren’t looking in a mirror and saw yourself? With cloning, this may be possible in the years coming. To some people it may sound enticing, but others might not enjoy life knowing that there is someone walking around who looks just like them. In Scotland in 1997 the first successful cloning was accomplished, but cloning had been considered for 100s of years. There are three main types of cloning. The first being recombinant DNA technology, or DNA cloning, the second type is reproductive cloning which is also the first successful type of cloning, the third type is therapeutic cloning which is used for medical purposes. Cloning could be used for the benefit or demise of the world, unforeseen problems may arise from cloned copies of plants, animals, or humans.

      The first living organism that was cloned was Dolly the sheep. Dolly was created using reproductive cloning. Dolly was named after the famous country singer Dolly Parton. Dolly was cloned by Ian Wilmut, Keith Campbell, and colleagues at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dolly produced offspring whose names were Bonnie, Sally, Rosie, Lucy, Darcie, and Cotton; all who survived. Dolly was the only lamb to survive the cloning process out of 266 attempts. Dolly developed a lung disease, called Jaagsiekte; it is still undecided whether it was because of cloning that she developed this disease. The disease killed Dolly at the age of six. (July 5, 1997 – February 14, 2003) Normal life expectancy for sheep is 11 or 12 years.  Since Dolly, ten other animals have been successfully cloned, a tadpole, a carp, a mouse, a rhesus monkey, a guar, a cow, a cat, a horse, a mule, a water buffalo, and a camel.

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       In the body, Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA is the genetic code of your body, and with the help of the three main types of RNA (Messenger, Transfer, and Ribosomal) your body copies its genetic code. In the real world outside of our bodies scientists are studying something called cloning which could hypothetically make a copy of a living organism. Cloning could potentially be life saving in the eyes of many, but in the eyes of others it is immoral and unethical. Some groups feel scientists are playing God.

       My personal belief is that cloning ...

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