The Pros And Cons Of Human Cloning

Every day, the field of Genetics is innovating and changing in groundbreaking new ways to address problems and to find solutions once only thought unattainable. One field of genetics, cloning, is a relatively new concept which was significantly formed in the late 20th century. This knowledge of cloning became readily available after the human genome was mapped out and a new idea and knowledge of the human genome was understood. The human genome project was started in 1990 by the Department of Energy and the National Health institute in an attempt to decode the 3 billion base pairs in the human genome. One this research was finished in 2003, and the human genome was mapped out, a whole new world of science was discovered. The Human Genome project

One of the potential applications of cloning is the similarity of the genetic information and DNA of the animals for the use of drug testing. The animals that are cloned are genetically identical, which means that the animals responses to the drug or treatment would be extremely similar. The results of the drug tests would become increasingly accurate, and the uses of the medicine could be better understood. Another advantage of cloning is that endangered species can be replicated and produced in an attempt to save the animals from extinction. One such example of this can be seen in the 2003 cloning of the endangered type of ox, called the Banteg, which was successfully cloned to save the species from extinction. (NIH Cloning applications

One detrimental effect of cloning is the health complications and short life span of the clones. Scientists observed that some of these clones had genetic complications and problems with their vital organs and organ systems which could lead to bodily dysfunctions and even death in the clones. In addition, if the animal that gave the somatic cell had any defects or diseases, all the clones would have and inherit the exact trait. These complications of cloning are major setbacks, and can greatly affect the clones or research that comes from cloning. However, the primary disadvantage that comes through cloning is that the animals that are cloned almost always have a significantly shorter lifespan than their non cloned animal compliments. “As cells go through their normal rounds of division, the tips of the chromosomes, called telomeres, shrink. Over time, the telomeres become so short that the cell can no longer divide and, consequently, the cell dies. As a consequence, clones created from a cell taken from an adult might have chromosomes that are already shorter than normal, which may condemn the clones' cells to a shorter life span (NIH Cloning drawbacks 1).” A prime example of this effect of the telomeres shrinking would be the cloning of Dolly the sheep. Dolly was cloned from a six year old sheep somatic cell, and because