Bursic 2:00
R11
CLONING: A SCIENCE THAT’S BENEFITS CANNOT BE DUPLICATED
Sarah Foran (saf79@pitt.edu)
INTRODUCTION: WHAT IS CLONING AND WHY IS
IT IMPORTANT?
The application of reproductive, therapeutic, and
DNA cloning can bring a vast amount of benefits to society
as a whole in a variety of ways. The strict definition of
cloning is the act of taking a single cell from an organism
and growing a new duplicate organism from that cell,
resulting in a clone of the original organism. [1] Each type
of cloning, which is performed a little differently, brings
about its own benefits, whether it be advances in healthcare,
food production, conservation of species, etc. Despite the
taboo that goes along with cloning, the breakthrough science
provides much advancement that outweighs the risks.
This topic of controversy is very interesting to me
for a few reasons. I plan on majoring in the field of
bioengineering, which is directly connected to genetic
engineering and cloning. Cloning has great potential to help
improve the quality of life for humans, whether it through
increasing quality and quantity of food supply or by
decreasing the amount of life altering diseases that affect
much of humanity. These sorts of improvements are things
I’ve always wanted to contribute to throughout my life and
possibly can through my current major choice. Therefore, I
firmly believe that the science of cloning should be more
widely used for the sake of advancement.
With advancement in any field comes controversy.
To quell this controversy and/or set boundaries on the
potential harm that the advancement could possibly bring,
ethical codes of conduct and regulation are put in place.
There are many moral and ethical concerns in regards to
genetic engineering. Most are related to moral integrity
along with human safety, such as the ethical concerns of
destroying an embryo during stem cell research or the
consumption of cloned animals. The regulatory codes keep
engineers in check in their practices and provide a source of
relief to those which these scientific studies bear on.
Although such codes can at times slow the speed of
advancement, they are necessary to reassure the public of the
safety of such procedures and to make sure public safety and
morality are concerns that are put first.
Taking a position on a prevalent issue in
engineering is a valuable experience altogether for anyone
interested in the field I believe for the fact that it allows
students to expand their horizons and explore current
improvements being made to our world in a multitude of
scientific manners. In addition to increasing scientific
awareness, it teaches engineers how to effectively research
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
10/29/12
and piece this research together to form an official opinion
on a certain subject. Such analytical skills are necessary to a
budding engineer such as myself for the fact that these skills
can translate to analytical approaches of thinking in the
workplace and research lab in future vocations. For these
reasons, I appreciate the knowledge that this position
research paper has given me.
REPRODUCTIVE CLONING
The first type of cloning to be discussed is
reproductive cloning. Reproductive cloning is the process of
producing an animal using the DNA of another, creating a
replicate. The creation of the cell is done by SCNT, or
Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. Through this process,
scientists take an egg, remove its genetic material, and put
genetic material from the nucleus of another cell into it. This
new cell is stimulated with an electric current so that it will
divide, allowing it to grow. After some time, the embryo
gets placed inside a surrogate mother until it’s fully grown
[2].
Many uses come from this type of cloning. First of
all, many types of endangered species could potentially be
repopulated through cloning. This was attempted in 2000,
when scientists attempted to clone a gaur, an endangered
Asian ox. The trial was somewhat successful. The clone was
born healthy enough to stand on its own. However, the calf
died two days later of infection. Similar complications have
arisen in other trials, where specimens were born with poor
immune systems, enlarged organs, or were larger than
average overall at birth [1]. However, this still gives hope to
later recovering certain species. Some believe that if species
can easily be regenerated, people will be less concerned with
preserving the environment. This is a valid concern, but in
general it’s important to try to bring back species that have
already been negatively impacted by humans.
Secondly, cloning animals could greatly increase
the amount and quality of food products available to the ever
increasing population. Cloning allows farmers to breed
better traits into their livestock. These improvements would
increase the quality and quantity of meats, decrease the
price, and increase the resistance of the animals to diseases.
In addition, the FDA found and stated in 2008 that “meat
and milk from cattle, swine, and goat clones or their
offspring are as safe to eat as food we eat from those species
now.” Despite the reassurance, some people still don’t feel
comfortable consuming meat or any other products that
come from clones, whether it for moral reasons or
Sarah Foran
foundation of an organism affects the subject’s life
processes, giving them insight into how much of a creature’s
life is predetermined by genetics. It is also used to engineer
plants that are more resistant to disease and/or are more
nutritious in general. This is beneficial to the population for
the obvious reason that it provides people with higher grade
produce. DNA cloning has been widely used to combat
genetic disorders by creating medicines and other products
to help deal with diseases such as diabetes, anemia, and
hemophilia [5]. This form of cloning has already been very
helpful to society in the ways of improving food quality and
quality of life for those who suffer from genetic ailments.
DNA cloning is a worthwhile science that should continue to
be used to its fullest potential.
uncertainty of if the products are really safe. In a 2008
survey of 1000 U.S. adults, 45% did not think highly of
cloning. However, 48% said that they would buy products of
the offspring of cloned creatures. In general, the study
showed that people are becoming more used to the idea of
purchasing meat, eggs, and milk from the offspring of clones
in comparison with the previous survey in 2005[3]. Cloning
animals for food production can have a great impact on the
food supply and quality.
THERAPEUTIC CLONING
Therapeutic cloning is the second prevalent type of
cloning. It involves producing human embryos to gather
stem cells for research. Stem cells are very useful for the fact
that they can replace almost any specialized cell in the
human body. This type of cloning is one of the more
controversial because by extracting the stem cell, the embryo
dies. This is seen as destroying a human life by a wide range
of people and is hotly debated as to whether it is an ethical
practice or not. Despite the controversy, these cells hold
great potential to combat many diseases, such as cancer,
Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and heart disease [2].
An important advancement therapeutic cloning
brings to the table is the possibility of cloning organs. This
would be done by harvesting the stem cells of a patient in
need of an organ, developing the cell so that it would
produce that organ, and allowing it to grow until it’s suitable
for transplant. This would get rid of the possibility of a
patient’s body rejecting a donated organ. It would also
eliminate the long wait there always is for a donated organ to
become available. Another way to produce organs through
therapeutic cloning would be by genetically altering pigs to
carry organs that could be used by human patients.
Currently, the technology available is not ready to create
organs through either of these processes. However, with
time and perfection of the science, this process could save an
abundance of lives [4]. Looking at both sides of the debate, I
do agree that by acquiring the stem cell, a potential life is
lost. However, the stem cell retrieved provides a great
potential to preserve the lives of those already born.
THE WRITER’S VIEWPOINT
I believe that the practice of cloning is a
revolutionary and incredibly valuable resource for our
society to take advantage of. It has the potential to provide
our population with many advancements and improvements
in numerous fields. As I stated in the introduction,
improving the life quality and longevity of people is a goal
that I’m very passionate about fulfilling. I feel very fortunate
to have the life that I do. I have never had to go to bed
hungry or worry about the quality of what I’m eating. But
the fact that a large percentage of the world’s population
doesn’t have that luxury pains me. The practice of cloning
has the possibility of making food more readily available,
safer in quality, and cheaper to those who need it most, not
to mention makes far strides in fighting life altering diseases
and potentially curing them. I hope that by attaining a degree
in bioengineering that I can assist in these advancements to
improve the quality of life for those less fortunate.
ETHICS: A MORAL OBLIGATION
There are a variety of codes that directly apply to
genetic engineering and the three major types of cloning. All
engineers are required to follow the National Society of
Professional Engineers Code of Ethics and the numerous
canons that go along with it. One of the major canons that
directly applies to the topic of this paper is ‘Engineers shall
hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public
[6].’ In other words, the wellbeing of society is most
important and should be held as such. Cloning has great
potential to help society in numerous ways, but there is
always a possibility of something going awry that could
negatively impact society as well. Reproductive cloning
brings the possibility of cloning animals to increase food
supply. However, this practice had to be thoroughly tested to
determine the safety to humans of eating the meat or
products of an animal that was cloned or the offspring of a
DNA CLONING
DNA cloning is the final type of cloning to be
discussed. It is the act of moving a fragment of DNA from
an organism to bacterial plasmid or some other type of selfreplicating genetic element, which is then put into a host
cell. This practice has become common in labs and is used in
making copies of the same gene [2].
The practice of cloning DNA is useful in many
ways. It allows genetic engineers to see if the genetic
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Sarah Foran
clone because of the canon stated above. In addition, it is
important to practice methods of cloning in a humane
manner.
Therapeutic cloning, which includes the practice of
harvesting stem cells, is a subject that has been ethically
debated over for years. Some find the whole practice
unethical while others believe that it is a worthy practice that
can greatly improve the quality of life to those living.
Regardless of one’s personal opinion, the canon that states
‘Engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public
interest’ exemplifies that the foremost obligation of
engineers is to improve life in manners that the public sees
fit [6]. Of course there will always be controversy over the
subject of stem cell research, but as long as there are those
who think that its benefits are worthy, it will continue to be
looked into and researched, but respectively, due to the
opinions of others who disagree with the practice. This is
also shown through the one of the canons of the Biomedical
Engineering Society Code of Ethics, which states
‘Biomedical engineers involved in research shall comply
fully with legal, ethical, institutional, governmental, and
other applicable research guidelines, respecting the rights of
and exercising the responsibilities to colleagues, human and
animal subjects, and the scientific and general public [7].’ In
some ways, the codes slow progress due to the extreme
precautions and testing that need to occur to ensure safety to
the public and moral integrity, but in general they are a
necessary hindrance because without these codes, scientific
practices could easily endanger society.
The concept of integrating ethical checks and
balances is very important to me for various reasons. As
much as I believe that cloning has more potential to be
beneficial than harmful, I personally have an extremely high
regard for the beliefs and thought processes of others. I
believe that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and all
have the right to express those opinions. In addition, as
stated before, my main desire in life as a future engineer is to
assist in improving the quality of life for others. To achieve
this, the practices involved must be tested over and over to
ensure the complete safety of humanity as a whole.
beliefs on a scientific subject. I will have to constantly be
learning and keeping up with these advancements for the rest
of my working life as an engineer. This paper has assisted in
that tremendously and I am satisfied with the benefits that it
has brought to me.
CONCLUSION: BENEFITS OUTWEIGH RISKS
In conclusion, cloning has an enormous amount of
benefits that greatly outweigh its risks. Through the three
types of cloning, reproductive, therapeutic, and DNA, there
are possibilities to improve the quality and increase the
quantity of food readily available to the world’s population,
bring an end to malicious diseases, increase life span, and
get a better idea of how greatly our genes determine who we
are. Writing this paper has been a very beneficial experience
for me for the fact that I now have had the opportunity to
gain significant knowledge on a subject in and to take a
stance on it while expressing my opinions. With all great
advancements in science comes great controversy. There are
a multitude of ethical concerns about this topic and codes
that must be followed to keep research ethically pure and
safe to the population. However, society should open its eyes
to the possibilities that lie ahead of it. It’s understandable to
have reservations about something so extreme and
groundbreaking, but don’t let those reservations hold society
back from what it can achieve.
REFERENCES
[1]
“Cloning
Controversy.”
(Online
blog).
http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2001/12/120301t_cloning.j
html
[2] “Cloning Fact Sheet.” (May 9, 2009) Human Genome
Project
Information.
(Online
Article).
http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/
cloning.shtml
[3] K. Brooks, J. Lusk. (October 2011) “U.S. Consumers’
Attitude Toward Farm Animal Cloning.” Sciverse. (Online
Article).
Vol.
57,
Issue
2.
pp.
483-492
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S01956663
11005137
[4] “Organ Cloning” Organ Cloning. (Online Article).
http://www.cloneorgans.com/
[5] S. Panse. “What is DNA Cloning?” WiseGEEK. (Online
Article). http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-dna-cloning.htm
[6] “NSPE Code of Ethics For Engineers” NSPE. (Online
Article).
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html
[7] “Biomedical Engineering Society Code of Ethics”
(February
2004)
BMES.
(Online
Article).
http://www.bmes.org/aws/BMES/asset_manager/get_file/19
110?ver=3480
EDUCATION: THE BENEFITS RESEARCH BRINGS
I believe that through writing this paper, I have
gained much insight into the ethical side of engineering and
the advancements and potential that cloning can and has
brought. It has been shown that through researching and
writing scientific papers, engineering students benefit by
gaining critical thinking and literacy skills that will enhance
their writing and thinking patterns [8]. I fully agree with this
statement. My fellow engineers and I have had the
opportunity to explore the ever growing advances in
scientific improvement and discoveries. We have also gotten
to take a stance on one of these issues and develop our
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Sarah Foran
[8] “Engineering Education Research” (2006) Purdue
University.
(Online
Article).
https://engineering.purdue.edu/ENE/Research/ResearchRepo
rt
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would first like to thank Professor Bursic for
reminding us about the paper at least once a day to keep us
on task. I would also like to thank the Writing Center
Instructors for always explaining to the class in detail how to
exceed expectations at writing our papers. Thank you to the
library staff that helped me find one or two of my articles.
Another thank you goes to Laura Rubino and Jen Brashayko
for keeping me on task and making sure I took as little
writing breaks as possible. Thank you to Tatiana Sunseri for
clarifying the reference instructions for me. And finally,
thank you Alana Monastra for showing me where the
formatting template was located.
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