The following continues the serialization of Chapter 2 from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:
CLONING
Clone comes from the Greek word for twin, and for this section, cloning will refer to the manipulation of a DNA sequence within the cell to obtain multiple copies. While the technique is complicated, this allows for replication into an exact copy. Grafting of a grape plant also can be considered to be form of cloning.
There is a kind of natural cloning beyond single cell division called asexual reproduction or parthenogenesis. This is relatively common in a few species of reptiles, fish and birds. Apparently, it is possible for the female hammerhead shark or Komodo dragon to conceive without the help of any male, the offspring turning out to have a genotype exactly of their mother, but not identical.
Hans Spemann, a German embryologist, who was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1935, wrote of his 1928 salamander nuclear transplant experiment in his 1938 book entitled, Embryonic Development and Induction. However, he never himself ever attained a successful clone. The first reported actual human induced cloning, was that of northern leopard frogs in 1952 by two American scientists, Robert Briggs and Thomas King. Tong Dizhou, a Chinese embryologist, in 1963 produced a clone of a carp. The Briggs-King technique was used to create, 6LL3, or Dolly—after Dolly Parton, because the cloning was of a mammary cell from a Finn Dorset lamb—the sheep, in 1996. Dolly apparently died from accelerated aging, caused by shortening of telomeres (located at the tips of a chromosome, which could well be the vital clue to eternal life).
There is, however, considerable controversy as to who should get credit. English embryologist Ian Wilmut was the supervisor, but English biologist Keith Campbell did most of the lab work. In 1997 came Cumulina by Ryuzo Yanagimachi at the University of Hawaii, and Campbell, in 1998, cloned Polly, another sheep, from genetically altered skin cells containing a human gene. Since then, clones of a rhesus monkey, cattle, cat (Little Nicky, 2004), mule, horse and dog have been created.
There was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, but that was just a fabrication from assorted human parts, and Jurassic Park, the novel by Michael Crichton and film by Stephen Spielberg, which featured clones of dinosaurs. Can this actually be accomplished? Apparently yes, as a team from Japan and Russia is trying to extract the DNA from a frozen woolly mammoth to bring this beast, at least the clone, back to life. The San Diego Zoo stores frozen tissues from the most endangered of species, awaiting the day.
Human cloning is the generation of a genetically identical version of a person. Identical twins are clones. The controversy has to do with cloning yourself. Animal stem cells are one thing, while embryonic stem cells are another. This distinction is amplified when it comes to animal cloning and human cloning. Cloning will develop into one option for eternal life.
How can a human be cloned? Basically, copying the Briggs-King technique: take an egg cell from a donor with the nucleus removed, then fuse on your cell with the proper genetic material.
Has there been any success? In 2002, Clonaid claimed victory with Baby Eva, and in 2004 returned with announcement of 13 additional clones. However, this organization is the medical arm of a religion called Raelism, which believes that aliens introduced human life (see Chapter 4). Absent any genetic confirmation, dubiosity runs rampant. In a nutshell, the field has been riddled with hoaxes and scientific frauds, including the incident out of South Korea, later described.
Notwithstanding, human cloning is now just about a given. In 2008, Stemagon, a company in La Jolla, California, announced it had cloned Samuel Wood, their chief executive. Wood, himself, indicated their firm had no interest in cloning humans as such (although, this is a wise thing to say today, not necessarily indicating ultimate intention). Their primary purpose was to grow the clone of a patient from which stem cells can be harvested to grow replacement tissues and organs.
The following polls show public feelings (all of these are virtual as of August 2007, except as indicated):
o From Explore More poll on genetic engineering:
Do you think cloning should be legal?
Yes 55%
No 45%
What are your feelings about human cloning?
Doubtful 15%
Fearful 41%
Hopeful 44%
○ From About.com on Agnosticism/Atheism:
Should research into human cloning be permitted or banned?
Permitted 49%
Banned 44%
Should actual cloning of human beings be permitted or banned?
Permitted 34%
Banned 59%
○ From the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (May 2006):
Should scientists be allowed to use human cloning to try to create children for infertile couples:
Yes 9.7%
No 83.4%
Should scientists be allowed to use human cloning to create a supply of human embryos to be destroyed in medical research?
Yes 11.4%
No 81.2%
It’s pretty clear that Americans have a negative opinion of human cloning, especially if a religious organization runs the survey. Most of the earlier traditional polls, actually, showed a negativity factor in the 80-90% range for actual human cloning.
In a poll of undergraduate students in Indonesia, Kenya, Sweden and the U.S., 10% were positive to human reproductive cloning, while 74% were negative. Muslims were the most negative and Hindus least. Non-religious respondents showed about the same overall average. It’s all in how you ask the question, but, even in Europe, disapproval of cloning prevails. Strangely enough, this same poll hinted that the views from both Mexico and Turkey had only a 50% disapproval figure.
The UN General Assembly in August of 2005 did adopt a declaration prohibiting all forms of human cloning. The vote was 87 in support, 34 in opposition and 70 abstaining or absent. But the edict was non-binding. The European Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine prohibits human cloning, but has not been ratified by most countries. There is, further, a Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which bans reproductive human cloning, but it has no legal standing. Cloning is largely unregulated in the U.K., but a therapeutic cloning license was issued in 2004 to the University of Newcastle. Human cloning, actually, is legal in the U.S., but there are Federal prohibitions against research.
Some countries have observed the American reluctance to support human cloning research and have taken definite steps. South Korea made a quick entry, but fell by the wayside in the scandal involving Professor Hwang Woo-Suk of Seoul National University (SNU), who announced in 2004 that his team had cloned human embryos and would someday be able to grow genetically matched tissues to repair anything in your body that broke down. His monumental breakthrough was published in Science, the most prestigious of scientific journals. It turned out to be a hoax. He did not produce even one stem cell line, while endangering the lives of junior female researchers who were unethically coaxed to donate their eggs for this research.
But Korea plugs along, as in 2006, a collaborator of Professor Wang, Lee Byeong-chun, also of SNU, succeeded in cloning the first female dog, Snuppy, an Afghan hound, using 2000 eggs to make 1000 embryos to produce one dog. Snuppy’s surrogate mother was a yellow Labrador. Professor Lee, though, remains in jeopardy because of the earlier scandal.
Singapore, a former British colony of 4.5 million people, has also entered the competition. For all intents and purposes, while a democracy, it is about as close to a benevolent dictatorship as there exists today. The government decides what is best and gets the job done. Education is one area, which is reported in the next chapter. Biotechnology is also a priority area. They have created Biopolis, a $300 million, 2 million square foot research center focused on biomedical development. They have recruited world class scientists who are fed up with national politics in their own country. Singapore is trying to establish a world sanctuary for stem cell research. While first inaugurated in 2003, Biopolis is already home to scientists from 50 nations.
A prime attraction is that Singapore allows stem cells to be drawn from embryos up to 14 days old. I keep reading that human cloning will be banned with a fine of $60,000 and five years of jail time, but I haven’t yet seen the actual law. Perhaps the benevolent dictatorship group is mulling over the humanitarian prospects of someday becoming the site of choice for therapeutic cloning, as depicted in a former CBS television drama, Century City.
What about China? University of Connecticut animal cloning director Jerry Yang Xiangzhong told The Standard, China’s business newspaper, that China can jump ahead of the U.S. in three years if their scientists were given the green light to proceed. His contention is that in much of the developed world scientific progress in this field is hindered by political and religious debates. There is also the moral problem with something called human dignity. Apparently, these difficulties would not be experienced in China.
So where is the USA on human cloning? Harvard initiated efforts to clone human embryos in 2006. They are funding this work with private donors without any government assistance. Mind you, they are not cloning humans, they would like to harvest stem cells to fight leukemia and diabetes. On the West Coast, the University of California at San Francisco announced a similar pursuit. There are also companies, such as Advanced Cell Technology of Massachusetts, pursuing human embryonic stem cell cloning. The ethical issues, however, will determine how quickly this effort develops. Well, now on to the next logical step beyond human cloning: eternal life.
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The Dow Jones Industrials jumped 71 to 9350, with world markets also up, save for the Pacific. Crude remains comfortably in the 70's and gold dropped $5/toz to $940.
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We are now down to two: Typhoon Vamco at 120MPH heading north to nowhere and Hurricane Bill at 125 MPH, which should safely avoid the Eastern Seaboard. The crucial day is Saturday, when Bill is expected to turn north.
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