Cloning

 

 

Although cloning is not new, and in fact, it is something that has been researched and trialed for years, it remains very controversial even though it offers many incredible benefits. For one group of people, cloning is messing with life and playing “God” whereas for another group of people, cloning offers tremendous medical opportunities, as well as enhancements to manufacturing, agriculture, and the environment, among other sectors. In this article, we wanted to provide a better understanding of what cloning entails, the multiple advancements achieved over the past few years, and even some of the lingering controversies.

 

Biotechnology in Medicine

 

Most people immediately think of “human cloning” when they hear the word cloning and while this is one possibility, and the most controversy, the truth is that “cloning” per se pertains to far more, as discussed in this article. As mentioned, cloning is not new and in fact, it was first used in 1952 when a tadpole in Scotland was cloned. Since that time, all types of opportunities have been discovered. For instance, research has revealed that cloning can be extremely beneficial to the medical sector, helping people prevent and deal with a variety of health issues. Additionally, specific to agriculture, experts are optimistic that cloning will one day prove a solution to world hunger.

 

Biotechnology in Agriculture

 

We will start by talking about cloning associated with agriculture. Typically, when a plant is cloned, the process involves grafting, which means that one of the plant’s branches is fused to another. What happens is that geometric shapes are produced, some extremely complex. As a result, new types of plants or hybrids can be produced, which includes varying types of leaves, stems, and even unique colored flowers. Another way in which cloning of plants works is that plant species viruses can be studied to determine the effects.

 

Then for gardens and crops, cloning makes it possible for better fruits and vegetables to be grown, as well as hybrid food such as the kumquat. Because of cloning abilities, farmers can eliminate known plant diseases, which ultimately means growing healthier crops but without sacrificing on flavor. With this, harvests would be more successful and less expensive to grow. Long-term, this cost savings could be passed on to consumers, as well as fruits and vegetables that are healthier to eat. Therefore, potential illnesses associated with plant disease that has been eliminated through the cloning process keeps people healthier, which means spending less money for healthcare.

 

Cell Generation

 

Most people realize that animals have been cloned as well although most are unaware that this process dates back centuries. Moving past the cloned tadpole, mice were cloned in Russia in 1986. However, Dolly the sheep is the best known case of animal cloning, which proved very successful. In this case, the life of Dolly began when a single adult cell was reprogrammed. As a result, a brand new sheep was born. The process of developing Dolly took 277 days, leading to a healthy sheep that lived for seven years. Considering sheep typically live between eight and fourteen years, Dolly’s life was considered within normal range.

 

Another case of animal cloning was in 2001 involving the Guar, an endangered species. A type of bovine, Noah was born healthy but just 48 hours later, died from a common form of dysentery. Researchers from Advanced Cell Technology concluded that the bull guar died from something any other non-cloned guar could have died from with the cloning process not being a contributing factor. With the number of these Southeast Asia and India animals down to about 36,000 worldwide from poaching, most experts believe that cloning is the only salvation for saving the existence of this anima.

 

Now, the one area of cloning that raises many questions is human cloning. Although it is certainly understandable that creating a duplicate person scientifically seems a little creepy, it is important to understand that the focus of human cloning is actually on regenerating medicine, finding cures for diseases such as cancer, making fertility treatments more successful, and possibly finding a way of maintaining youth. Keep in mind that in most countries, human cloning is illegal but as more and more benefits are revealed and a people gain a better understanding, it is possible that human cloning in some degree would occur.

 

If human cloning were done as a means of identifying and eliminating dominant genes, those that predispose some people from developing cancer, diabetes, or other illnesses, then most people would probably feel more comfortable with this form of biotechnology but because of the ethical issue, cloning of humans will forever be a debatable subject. Even so, with what we know about cloning in general, the benefits far outweigh the bad.