The Effects of Cloning on the Actual Clone Essay -- Biology Medical Bi

The Effects of Cloning on the Actual Clone Abstract An examination of the side-effects of cloning from the actual clone?s point of view. Focusing on the female cloned sheep Dolly (1995-2001) and her development under the unusual conditions in which she was raised that resulted in a premature euthenization. Not only is the process of conception brought into consideration, but also the living conditions and interactions between Dolly and other creatures is detailed. The resulting behavioral development of the sheep is then weighed and the death of Dolly attributed to not the cloning process, but the propaganda and attention given the actual sheep. The controversy surrounding the issue and ethics of cloning, centered on the large animal side, is also addressed here. Contributing factors as to why clones are not the exact carbon copies of their ancestors, as is expected, are also listed. Technical jargon is elaborated upon. _____________________________________________________ With all the controversy over the ethics of cloning, the focus of all the articles has been on ?playing God? and how it changes the meaning of life. The train of thought has been that animal cloning will lead to human cloning, and that human cloning is unethical and maybe even dangerous if the practice becomes common. But the common civilian doesn?t stop to think about the effects of cloning on the actual clone. No, most non-scientifically oriented people simply know some of the ethical arguments for or against cloning. Such points including that tampering with natural selection is wrong, or that cloned livestock would benefit the economy. Of course, the media most commonly focuses on the bad news and then the propaganda about cloning issues surfaces. Tak... ...cloned sheep that would be consumable by humans. (NISE 19997) This study is still being continued at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, and now Dolly has two younger cloned siblings that are contributing to the research along these lines. From the Clone?s Perspective 5 Many other animals such as lab mice have been successfully cloned as well. However, domestic animals like dogs and cats have not been produced through the cloning process. Rats as well have so far been a failing experiment. (Pence, 2004) From the Clone?s Perspective 6 References NISE. (1997 March). Hello Dolly. Scottish Sheep Shocker. 7-28-05: http://whyfiles.org/034clone/ Pence, G. (2004) Cloning After Dolly: Who?s still afraid? Lanham Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc. Roslin Institute. (1998 April). Progress AD (After Dolly). 7-28-05: http://www.roslin.ac.uk/public/cloning.html