One of the most controversial issues in medicine for many years has been cloning: for and against this procedure, there are many. The first mention of clones dates back to 1963. It was then that this term began to be used by a geneticist from the UK.
Required terminology
Biologists use several definitions for the word "clone". Most often, this term refers to a certain organism that appeared through asexual reproduction and retained hereditary information from its ancestor. The cloning process reproduces the gene structure. However, it cannot be said that these are absolute copies. Their genotype is exactly the same. But clones can differ in their supragenetic properties. They may have different sizes, colors, susceptibility to diseases.
So, for example, the famous sheep Dolly was not a completely phenotypic copy of the sheep whose cells were used to obtain it. She had a lot of pathologies, because of which she died at an early age. And the parent sheep did not have any diseases. After birthDolly, many began to talk about the possibilities of extrasexual human reproduction. Few of the supporters of this branch of biology are stopped by the fact that about 85% of attempts to make clones end in failure. But the unexplored nature of this area is far from the only arguments against cloning.
Potential Opportunities
Currently, it is too early to talk about the reproduction of exact copies of people. But after all, not only this requires cloning: for and against the continuation of research in this area, many arguments can now be found. But do not forget that this industry provides a lot of opportunities.
Thus, one of the promising areas is transplantology. For an organ transplant, you do not need to look for a donor, check compatibility, wait for an operation and pray that the process of rejection does not begin. Cloning would make it possible to grow an absolutely identical organ and transplant it.
Also, many say that this is a chance for childless families who do not want to adopt a child. In addition, cloning will avoid a number of hereditary diseases. Many want to use these technologies to avoid old age and natural death.
It's hard to say what the future holds for cloning. There are strong arguments for and against on both sides. But adherents and opponents of such a reproduction of a person speak of different sides of the coin.
It is believed that someday scientists will be able to make neurons that can replace nerve cells in the brain that die as a result of the progression of Parkinson's disease. also inplans to create pancreatic cells that can produce natural insulin in the body of diabetics.
Experimental Prohibitions
Despite the fact that scientists are still very far from creating a full-fledged he althy copy of a person, this is already prohibited at the legislative level. For example, the UN has developed a special declaration, which indicates the inadmissibility of such human reproduction experiments as cloning. Against (composition of legislators, fortunately for researchers, is only advisory in nature) the development of these technologies was only 84 members. But the declaration is actively supported in the United States, in the East in the Arab countries, in Latin America and Africa.
Many have spoken out in favor of continuing to develop technology, to conduct experiments with cloning. But at the same time, copying people remains unacceptable. Reproductive technologies through cloning have been banned in more than 30 countries. Among them are Russia, many European countries, Japan, China, Israel.
True, scientists continue to clone embryos. It is believed that this direction should revolutionize medicine. In their opinion, doctors with the help of these modern technologies have a chance to defeat a number of diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's or diabetes. Geneticists believe that any prohibitions may protect morality, morality, but they doom people living today to death. To understand your attitude to this issue, you need to know everythingarguments of the militant camps. Then everyone will be able to make a choice for himself and understand how he relates to modern technologies. Many still at school sort out all the nuances and determine both sides of the medal called "cloning: pros and cons." An essay on such a topic helps to understand well your attitude to this issue.
Impending dangers
Speaking of the need to ban any artificial reproductive technologies, people are afraid that doctors cannot competently handle any scientific discoveries. Even the most secret developments become known to a wide range of people. So, for example, happened with atomic weapons. Therefore, it is impossible to control scientific knowledge and its dissemination.
Despite all the possibilities that human cloning opens up, the pros and cons need to be well weighed. For example, the development of these technologies can free the hands of aggressive states and terrorist groups. They will be able to create armies of physically hardy people, not weighed down by intellect. In addition, it will be possible to create clones of world rulers and undermine their authority, bring chaos to political life.
But speaking of this, many people forget that in order to get a clone of a person aged, for example, 40 years, it is necessary that these 40 years have passed. After all, they grow up just like ordinary people. In addition, you also need to find parents who will agree to give birth and raise a cloned child. So, in order to get an army of clones, it is necessary thatat least 20-25 years have passed.
Another threatening danger is that people will be able to program the desired gender of the child. For example, in China or Muslim countries where the birth of a boy is preferable, there can be a huge imbalance.
Also, do not forget that these reproductive technologies are not yet perfect. Scientists have learned to take and reproduce genetic material, but it is too difficult for them to create viable copies from it. For geneticists, this is no reason to stop. It is impossible to develop this industry without further research.
Other objections
Many people are opposed to reproductive technology simply because they don't understand what human cloning is for. The arguments for and against are incomprehensible to them. Opponents say that a person is a unique creation and it is unacceptable to make a copy of him. In their opinion, this is below the dignity of people. But at the same time, they forget that identical twins have similar codes. There are about 150 million of them on the planet.
Many people abhor the idea of cloning. But this is not at all a reason to prohibit research in this industry. The decision to reproduce their own kind should be taken only by the people themselves. Otherwise, humanity is deprived of the right to promoted freedom of choice. Supporters genuinely wonder why cloning is more disgusting than, for example, gender reassignment.
But there are other arguments against human cloning. So, copying the code will reduce the genetic diversity of people on the planet. The cloned offspring willweaker, more prone to various diseases. And this will be the impetus for the development of epidemics. But for this it is necessary that cloning in the literal sense be put on an industrial scale. About 6 billion people live on the planet. Even if 1 million clones appear, this number will be negligible in order to affect non-genotypic diversity. But even if you copy each person, you get 6 billion different copies.
To understand what cloning is, whether you are for or against this phenomenon, you must also take into account that this process is incomparable with genetic engineering. In the process, genes are not modified or changed in any way, but simply copied. This leads to the fact that an exact copy of a person appears without any changes. He cannot become a freak or a monster. Only the use of genetic engineering technologies, where DNA is modified, can lead to such results.
Ethical Issues
Opponents of the idea of human cloning emphasize that the reproduction of human copies is unethical. The church is also actively opposed to this. But religious people for the most part are opponents of all reproductive technologies, including IVF. They say that the creation of man, the mystery of his birth, should be subject only to God. It is not for a man to interfere in these matters.
But representatives of the Orthodox Church of Russia say that individual organs, tissues, animals can be reproduced. But they also oppose complete reproduction.person. However, they do not consider this issue, as scientists do not evaluate cloning from a scientific point of view. They have their own pros and cons. Orthodox talk about the ethical side of the issue. First of all, they ask about how a person will feel when he finds out that he is completely someone else's copy. Legal aspects are also important. Will the clone be the heir of the person who became the donor? Should he continue his journey?
Besides, it is obvious that people are unlikely to stop at simple cloning. They will want to combine it with genetic engineering. That is, if this industry develops, then many will want to make improved copies of a person. For example, they will strive to increase physical endurance, improve mental abilities, stimulate individual organs, and influence appearance.
Generally recognized norms of morality
Speaking about the benefits of cloning and the dangers that threaten, few people think about how exactly this process takes place. Thus, embryonic stem cells are best suited for growing organs. After all, approximately for a period of 14 days, all organs and systems of the body begin to form from them. Scientists believe that 3-4 day old cells are ideal for cloning technologies.
Stem pluripotent cells are the most suitable for cloning. All organs and tissues are formed from them, but a single organism cannot be recreated. It is at this stage that geneticists are most opposed. For many years there has been an active discussion, an assessment is given of how ethical the cloning of human beings is.embryos: the pros and cons of each camp are quite weighty. So, opponents do not get tired of recalling that abortive embryos are used to obtain these cells.
This variant of cloning is being considered for obtaining organs. The embryo is grown up to three months of age. After that, he is removed from the artificial womb and placed in a sterile space where his life processes will be supported. According to adherents of the theory, a body grown in this way cannot be called either a person or a full-fledged clone. They call them simply a group of interacting organs, because the consciousness of a living being ceased activity during the abortion period. Opponents of cloning categorically disagree with this scheme for the development of reproductive medicine.
Opinion of geneticists
Experts involved in the technology of growing living cells artificially claim that it is impossible to get an identical copy of a person. After all, it is not only genes that shape it, but also the circumstances in which it grew up. And it's impossible to recreate it. People think about reproducing famous people, outstanding athletes, geniuses, but they forget that only external resemblance will be common. It is not possible to create the same copy as the original.
Besides, it's too early to talk about such possibilities. Therefore, it is useless to argue about ethical aspects and hold discussions on the topic "Cloning: pros and cons" for the time being. Now scientists can take donor tissue, place it in an egg that is devoid of its owngenetic material, grow a blastocyle from it. But after that, it must be planted in the uterus. When growing Dolly the sheep, 277 clones were created, of which only 29 took root in the uterus. Of this amount, only one viable sheep was obtained.
Experiments on mice made it clear that it is possible to get offspring in this way. But at the same time, a certain hidden defect appears in animals. Outwardly, they are absolutely he althy. But with each generation, they became less and less amenable to cloning.
Even experts can't claim that these technologies are safe. They themselves can tell everything they know about the advantages and dangers that cloning is fraught with (“for” or “against”). An essay on this topic by each of them will be able to show what additional dangers lie in wait for experimenters.
Cons through the eyes of experts
Genetics are calm about the fact that they use embryos for research, they are not worried about the religious side of the issue or moral and ethical aspects. They may name other arguments against cloning. But, in their opinion, they are connected only with the fact that this industry requires more research.
So far, it is clear to specialists that cloning cannot be a substitute for natural reproduction of offspring. But the reason why the process is becoming more difficult with each generation of clones has not yet been clarified. There are two main versions. According to one of them, with each cloning, the end of the chromosome called "telomere" is "slicked off". BUTthis makes further copying impossible. But this assumption was refuted as a result of experiments on mice. According to another version, this is due to the fact that the he alth of the clones is deteriorating with each generation. But it also failed to confirm.
The right choice
Talking about whether it is worth reproducing a person or other living beings is endless. After all, there will always be opposing parties that can argue on the topic "Cloning: for and against." A table listing all the potential advantages and disadvantages of this method is unlikely to help reconcile them. Although it will give each person the opportunity to determine their point of view.
Empirically, it was found that even copying DNA will not make it possible to obtain an identical living being. So, for example, a cloned cat had a different color than her mother, a donor of genetic material. Many thought that this technology would make it possible to "resurrect" pets, the most daring even hoped to reproduce the departed people.
Therefore, no one undertakes to consider cloning as a branch of reproductive medicine at this time. But it is possible to develop its potential in the therapeutic field. If you go exclusively this way, then the number of opponents decreases sharply. To do this, you can consider all the nuances that affect the process called cloning. The pros and cons can be summarized as follows. The main advantages include opening up possibilities for the treatment of manyserious diseases, restoration of skin damaged by burns, organ replacement. But opponents insist that it is necessary to remember the moral and ethical side of the issue, that these technologies are designed to kill nascent life (embryos from which stem cells are taken).
