Cloning : Where do u stand?

[stalin006]

Cloning : Where do u stand?

EDIT: ok......i was about to put a poll but computer crashed.......

 

[Logain]

I haven't made up my mind yet! So I'll have to get back to you.....

 

[Suppersalmon]

it could be good if used sensible but if in the wrong hands its a very bad thing

 

[funxus]

Cloning, as in making an exact copy of someone or something I can't really see what's good about. But if it's possible to maximize food production or making crops grow better in cold or dry weather I'm all for it, it might save the third world. It really depends on who's using it.

 

[Ohwell]

I think it'd be best if only used for cloning organs and plants.

 

[Sanaz]

If it will help my children to have a better life, for example by replacing a kidney that won't work, I will not say that I wouldn't be very grateful for it. Same goes for genetic manipulation/therapy. Even if I'm philosophically opposed to something, it's hard to look the other way when it's your own child suffering. I hope we continue to explore all possibilities in medical research.

 

[Dynamic Cow]

clone me? cant be done, ill kill you before that happens. clone organs for replacement of defunct ones? sure, go ahead.

 

[Becka]

As for cloning humans, I say no. If you get however far along and have a person (who's already been born) and there's some kind of grave health problem, what are you going to do? Just kill them? What are you going to tell them? "Sorry, we engineered you and brought you into this world but now we're going to have to take you out because your suffering is a pang on our conscience." I don't know exactly WHAT kind of things might happen (though I've heard the cloned sheep Dolly has some problems yet I don't know how serious they are) but it still makes me leery.

I don't have a great problem with experiments on plants or animals, except for normal "don't-know-what-sort-of-effect-this-will-have-on-the-environment/people-who-consume-these-living-things-as-food" sort of things.

 

[Senoj]

I think it is best oonly to clone for medical purposes only. If you do any more then things can start getting nasty!

 

[The ANZAC]

Yeah, cloning people is bad, but everything else is ok, though it should be for medical purposes.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

I am for it, as long as the clones are only 1/8th the size of the original, and have to dress like the originals.

Nay, one is not in favour. Haven't you seen The Boys from Brazil ?

 

[HotDog Fish]

Originally posted by The ANZAC
Yeah, cloning people is bad, but everything else is ok, though it should be for medical purposes.

For once we agree! Cloning should only be for medicinal purposes, like growing lungs and hearts etc. and only through EXTREMELY EXTENSIVE TESTING GM foods as well but only once we find out they are 100% non harmful to people and the environment

 

[CurtSibling]

Good for curing innocent people of cancer or other incurble ills.

Bad if harnessed by evil men for ignoble uses...

I am all for cloning to save and extend lives...namely mine!

 

[Mikoyan]

Well, my opinions are the same as Curt's, basically.
On the last part too!

 

[Ludovit]

It can be used for both good and bad, as everything. I don't understand, why do you disagree with cloning of human.

1. There are thousand of natural clones - twins.
2. Fear of Hitler clone? Personal qualities, are partly genetically given but from great part, they are formed by social environment.
3. No matter if you agree or not of if it's legal. If it's possible, someone will do it. And then you'll see that it's not so bad as you thought (at least I hope so).
4. Problem with ethics? Ethical and moral standarts change.

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

I could clone organ backup people.

I mean..............we could use it to save the children?

 

[Becka]

Originally posted by Ludovit
4. Problem with ethics? Ethical and moral standarts change.

Maybe there are some standards that shouldn't........

 

[Zwelgje]

Originally posted by Ludovit
3. No matter if you agree or not of if it's legal. If it's possible, someone will do it. And then you'll see that it's not so bad as you thought (at least I hope so).

You'll be surprise to see what can go wrong when somebody really decides to clone another individual. At the moment science hasn't discovered all aspects of human genetics and that won't happen either in the next 10-20 years. There are so many mechanisms that regulate gene-expression (believe me, I know what I'm talking about, it's my field of research) that there is a long way to go before we understand everything that's going on in the human cell.

Problems known so far with cloning:
- You can never produce an exact clone is there is mitochondrial DNA that isn't being transferred into the clone from the original.
- DNA shortens every cell-division, this is not bad as the outer parts of the DNA are composed of non-information. However when you clone you use old DNA (already shortened) that will be made even shorter in the new individual each cell division. After a while it can easily happen that parts of the DNA fall of which actually are information carriers. The results of this can be a big disaster.

These 2 problems have already been described by studying Dolly (the cloned sheep) but what will happen when you clone humans? Human genetics are often just as or even more complicated than the genetics of other mammals. So problems can only become worse when cloning humans.


edit:
To make my opinion on cloning clear:
I/m all in favour of cloning to make organs for people who are seriously ill and don't have another option. Much research should be put in this. I'm just against cloning full human beings.

 

[nixon]

As long as it serves the medical science, i.e. helps curing fatal diseases which can be altered or removed completely, one's certainly for it. The statistics say that every third person gets cancer, why object against this indeed auspicious technology?

The side effects of such a technology is that there will always exist people who deliberately intend to abuse the technology for unwanted purposes. If you were just as hush about this as we are with for example WMD, bad effects of such delicate technology could most likely be avoided.

 

[Desmond Hawkins]

Not to mention how much harder it will be for people to find and kill me when there are 101 of me, but only one that is the real mea hahahahhahah