Cloning itself had been a figment of imagination in books and movies for all of history, something no one would of dreamed to become reality. Animal cloning is a scientific process where an exact copy of an animal is created, meaning that the two animals have the same exact DNA. There are many reasons animal cloning is a major issue, but there are also many reasons why it could be helpful. Animal cloning can lead to superior animals, controlled testing, organ harvesting, preservation, and other scientific breakthroughs.
Though some issues are cost, by- product safety, moral and ethical boundaries, birth defects, and many other controversies. While there are a lot of questions that need to be answered before this process is an everyday occurrence, or becomes part of the human world, no one can deny how amazing it really is. Animal cloning itself by far has many more advantages than it does disadvantages, making it more beneficial to society. In 1885 the first ever demonstration of artificial embryo twinning on a sea urchin was done by Hans Adolf Edward Dreisch.
The experiment showed that each cell in the early stages of an embryo has its own set of genetic instructions and and will grow into a complete organism. Robert Briggs and Thomas King in 1952, transmit the nucleus of an arly tadpole embryo into an enucleated from a frog egg, resulting in the development of a tadpole. Six years later, John Gurdon transplanted the nucleus of a tadpole intestinal cell into an enucleated frog egg, which showed nuclei from somatic cells in a fully developed animal could be used for cloning. The first mammalian embryo was created by nuclear transfer from a rabbit in 1975 by J.
Derek Bromhall. In 1996, Wilmut and Campbell created a lamb by transferring the nucleus from an adult sheep’s udder cell into an enucleated egg. This resulted in the birth of Dolly, the first mammal created by somatic cell uclear transfer. In the years following many more cloning experiments further researched and tested. Animal Cloning has come a long way with some issues, but will keep growing into the future. People seem to often want to ignore the potential advantages when it comes to animal cloning and instead focus on the disadvantages.
One benefit is the potential to help with the endangerment of animal extinction with reproductive cloning. “In New Jersey alone, there are about 84 wildlife species that are feared to be endangered, while around 40% of the world’s species are at risk to be extinct. ” Advocates of this say hat the scientific process offers an answer to protect and support the species. In 2009, scientists cloned the first extinct animal, a mountain goat called the bucardo, though died soon after birth due to a lung defect (“10 Marked Advantages”).
With animal cloning endangered species would no longer be in danger of going extinct, resulting in future generations of people to see them (“Cloning Animals Pros and Cons List”). Continuing on, animal cloning has the advantage to offer controlled testing, clinical trials, and biomedical research. The cloned animals are the same animals as the animals they were cloned from, which ives scientists an incredible advantage. The cloned animals could assist as the perfect control subject for testing, meaning they would be able to compare results to how the animal was originally (“Pros and Cons of Animal Cloning”).
Scientists have used animal models in clinical trials before, but with cloning they could do twice of the research. Mice are an example that scientist have used to genetically alter to make them carriers of disease and are then used to find cures, however, the process can take time and several steps to achieve. With cloning, scientist could create transgenic animals and heighten enetically identical animals in a short period of time than normal (“10 Marked Advantages”). With biomedical research animal cloning could produce genetically identical animals, which could be used to help research and cure human diseases.
The most common animal, the mouse, has been successfully cloned along with other animals, and is very likely further the discovery of many new treatments for disease (“Animal Cloning – Pros and Cons Discussed”). As has been mentioned, animal cloning has come a long way and will continue to thrive into the future. Animal cloning can be used also to help with genetic testing, drug research, and organ arvesting. There are many rights activists groups that are against using animals for genetic and drug testing/research, but it can not be refused that it is one of the most valuable way to do so.
This type of research using specific parts of animals could help reduce the use of living creature, saving the animals pointless pain (“Cloning Animals Pros and Cons List”). Supporters animal cloning point out that organ harvesting is one of the biggest potentials to create organs to save lives. Meaning a new body with brand new organs, which could resolve problems with the organ donor waiting list (“Pros and Cons of Animal Cloning”). Animal cloning can also be useful with stem cell research, which could lead to many outstanding outcomes.
The stem cells would be used to help cure diseases, leading to build and repair body tissues. Over time spent on stem cell research, animal cloning could be used to help aid in the process. If it was done successfully on animals, scientists could look at a future where stem cells can be used to produce identical stem cells for specific people (“10 Marked Advantages”). It may be true, that many people have argued that scientists are “playing God”, meaning that they are creating a duplicate of omething that there should only be one of on the earth.
On the other hand, by making these copies it will make medical procedures and research more advanced, more readily accessible, and easier to do. In “Reproductive Biotechnology: An Animal Scientist’s Perspective,” Randall Prather says that biotechnology sounds like something evil and ungodly that Christians should not be associated with because it seems to be a way of creating new life (1988). In reality, he states that it is something God does not command against it and is fact a way to increase the quality of life and help people from suffering.
So n other words, Prather is saying that while some may see it as evil and against god, but in actuality it is something that can help sustain life. For example, Prather states that since God does not demand against it, and that it will enhance the quality of life: “Yes, these technologies should be perfected and applied. ” Animal cloning is really not an act against god, but a gift of technologies and discoveries from him. In all, Christians may believe cloning is going against nature, but it does not, and so this technology can be worked out and used to help make the lives of animals and humans better. (“Reproductive
Biotechnology”) Therefore, animal cloning does have more advantages than disadvantages. With animal cloning many endangered species can be revitalized and brought back up in numbers so that many people can enjoy them in the future. Along with that animal cloning has the potential to help with clinical trials, controlled testing, and biomedical research. This allows for the opportunity of medical advancements. The use of stem cell research will lead to the advancement and discovery of curing diseases. The good of animal cloning far outways the bad just from the mere accomplishments of medical advancements alone.
