Topic > Cloning and Related Ethical Controversies

In the rapidly growing field of genetics lies a rather peculiar process that was once the height of science fiction, now an absolute reality: cloning. Regardless of any controversial issues surrounding this process, it is now more widely used than ever and if the facts surrounding the matter are any indication, from a technical aspect, a successful process could prove extremely beneficial to the human race. Reminiscent of fictional entities, one may believe that cloning is a process in which a physically similar duplicate of an organism is created while sharing key personality traits and age. Meanwhile, the possibility of being genetically engineered to produce both physically and mentally desirable traits remains a conceivable option. In summary, this concept is not too far from the reality of the situation. In reality, cloning is a process/or series of processes in which a genetically identical replica of a biological entity is created. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Various biological issues can be cloned, from the simplicity of a single cell to the complexity of a multicellular organism such as an animal. Although conceived as minor, it is crucial to note that cloning a multicellular organism does not result in the duplicate sharing the same age, memories or necessarily the same personalities (although there may be some similarities) as only DNA is shared between the two organisms (original and clone). Cloning, evidently, is a complex process although it is not necessarily always performed by artificial means as it can be found in one of the most significant aspects of nature's asexual reproduction. During asexual reproduction, single-celled organisms, such as bacteria, divide in two, resulting in two genetically indistinguishable individuals. Artificial cloning can be simplified into three unique types/forms including; genetic cloning, reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning produces duplicates of particular sections of DNA or genes. Reproductive cloning, which is the most widespread form of cloning found in fictional pieces, produces replicas of entire organisms while therapeutic cloning produces embryonic stem cells for the purpose of experiments/trials intended to create biological tissues to replace damaged/and/or tissue infected. The cloning procedure can be performed in various ways, the particular specifications change in a detailed way, for example depending on the organism and external/environmental variables. One such example can be found in the enterprise of genetic (gene) cloning. During this process, an organism's gene ("foreign DNA") is interpolated into the genetic matter of a vector called a vector that can deviate from simple life forms such as bacteria up to organisms such as yeast cells, viruses and others . even plasmids. Before gene placement, the vector is placed in a location with laboratory-like conditions, stimulating it to multiply/duplicate numerous times. More complex organisms such as animals can be cloned by extracting a somatic cell (which can be any cell in the body excluding sperm) and inserting it into an egg cell that has had its confined DNA removed. The egg containing the somatic cell is then placed in the womb of a female animal belonging to the same species where it is allowed to grow and eventually produces an exact genetic duplicate of the original organism. Although ethically questionable in the case of humans, cloning animals can be very useful, as in the case of rats,.