Ethical perspective of a global issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical perspective of a global issue - Essay ExampleThe curtain raising of human clone was raised when Scottish scientists at Roslin Institute created the much-celebrated sheep Dolly (Lauritzen 57-64). Dolly aroused ecumenic interest and concern because of the scientific and ethical implications in creating her. The feat, cited by Science magazine as the breakthrough of 1997, also generated uncertainty over the meaning of clone --an umbrella term traditionally used by scientists to describe different processes for duplicating biological material. (Murray, 41) When the media report on cloning in the news, they are usually talk about only one type called reproductive cloning. There are different types of cloning however, and cloning technologies can be used for new(prenominal) purposes besides producing the genetic twin of another organism. A elemental understanding of the different types of cloning is key to taking an informed stance on current human race policy issues and mak ing the best possible personal decisions. (Murray, 41)The fol measlying three types of cloning technologies are the some progressive (1) recombinant desoxyribonucleic acid technology or DNA cloning, (2) reproductive cloning, and (3) therapeutic cloning. ... Scientists studying a special gene often use bacterial plasmids to generate multiple copies of the same gene. Plasmids are self-replicating extra-chromosomal circular DNA molecules, distinct from the normal bacterial genome (see im come on to the right). Plasmids and other types of cloning vectors are used by human Genome Project researchers to copy genes and other pieces of chromosomes to generate overflowing identical material for further study. (Walters, 69)Reproductive cloning is expensive and highly inefficient. More than 90% of cloning attempts fail to produce viable offspring. More than hundred nuclear transfer procedures could be required to produce one viable clone. In addition to low success rates, cloned animals t end to have more than compromised immune function and higher rates of infection, tumor growth, and other disorders. Japanese stu relegates have shown that cloned mice live in poor health and die early. (Lauritzen 57-64) About a terzetto of the cloned calves born alive have died young, and many of them were abnormally large. Many cloned animals have not lived long enough to generate good data about how clones age. Appearing healthy at a young age unfortunately is not a good indicator of long term survival. Clones have been known to die mysteriously. For example, Australias first cloned sheep appeared healthy and energetic on the day she died, and the results from her autopsy failed to determine a cause of death. (Walters 69)In 2002, researchers at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reported that the genomes of cloned mice are compromised. In analyzing more than 10,000 liver and placenta cells of cloned mice, they discovered