Cloning is an effort to find out how our cells go from stem cells to the somatic cells in our body.
But first let’s start out with some background information.
DNA codes for proteins AKA traits. Now the whole strand does not code for our genes: there are many unused parts of the strand that do not code for anything and are cut out of the mRNA, but that is not the part that we care about here. The unused caps on the end of the strands AKA telomeres are what we need to talk about here. Now these telomeres keep the DNA strand from unraveling and killing the cell. Every time the cells splits DNA also replicates and loses some of the Nucleic Acids on theses telomere ends. This loss only allows the cell to replicate about 50 times. But, while a baby is a fetus these telomeres are fixed to their full length, and after birth this repair stops. (Only in cancer cells does this happen again)
So, when cloning we can not fix these ends, so anything that carried to term would be genetically as old as the donor.
Also, when sperm and eggs are made there is a process that turns off certain genes that cause birth defects, called imprinting. When cloning it is very these imprints are easily wiped away (so to say) and nothing normal would be carried to term, if it made it that far.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by cybersharp
I think that cloning is ethical. Does a baby choose to be born? Of course not...If you think that cloning anouther human being is unethical then you must think having children is unethical as well?......
|
Cloning has a terrible success rate and I can not advice it for anyone, because to get a result that would be satisfactory there would be many aborted babies that would not turn out normal. Until there is a 100% success rate I can not agree with the cloning of humans.
Human parts I think is great that will save lives. But the advances that will come of cloning not the cloning itself, the advances will cause us to live longer lives.