109 replies to this topic

[adriantc]

Are you for or against cloning?

I will start by telling you that I am for cloning. Why? It can save many human lives, bring back extinct species and maybe put an end to many of mankind's problems (see world hunger). Of course it can create many more, some of them could seem SF.
Well I see cloning like the nuclear bomb. At first it could and it will probably be an weapon (see hiroshima and nagasaki ... off-topic: two months ago, before the american elections someone intervied a lady in Ney York and they asked her why she will vote for Bush. She sad "because it is good to know he can drop the nuclear bomb again to protect america". Well that kind of thinking seems very, very, very stupid to my but i am not an american citizen so... ) but if that won't wipe us out from the surface of the earth cloning will be the future. Remember that we where near (30 min near) full nuclear war in the '60. But we lived and now the nuclear bomb is still a threat but it's the same technology that gives us energy and maybe one day take us to the stars.

So I ask you once again are you for or are you against cloning?



I have one more question for you...
It has been a documentary on Discovery Channel regarding the cloning of the tasmanian tiger (for the ones who haven't seen it you should see it). Did they do any more progress other then what thay showed on TV?

[burgen]

by cloning you mean species cloning. I am a biochemist and in our terms cloning is a process which we simply copy a piece of DNA or gene by PCR, and we do it everyday. So make sure next time you say cloning you add species before it.
as for your question, techniquely now people can clone any species, but the method/process of cloning determines that it will not be the same as natural born. and there may be very significant problems, which we can not find out or predict. the sheep dorley, the first cloned animal, died very early in its age and people don't know why. To protect species, I don't know, I am not knowledgable enough to answer the question, but I think by cloning the species will not be the same any more. and if the species is in extinction, that means it can not adjust and accostumize to the environment and it will be replaced by new species, that is the natural rule. However, there are so much environmental changes caused by people today, and a lot of species extinct because of it, so I am not sure what should we do. I suggest we start from protecting the environment first, reduce polution, stop digging oil (that is the origin of almost all the polutions) and use electricity to drive cars.

[adriantc]

You know that the tasmanian tiger is extinct because of men hunting it to extinction in just 30 years.
And even if it is the natural law for unadapted species to became extinct we are only human. The same natural law whould tell us to kill the men which are not fit for reproduction like invalids...but we are human, we like to belive that we are over (better) than the natural law.

[ill]

Even if many animals are now extinct because of man, isn't this still the "natural rule" as you put it? Survival of the fittest or some sort?

I don't know where I am on cloning, however anything that can cure cancer, diabetes or anything could be very great to our society. Sometimes we have to fail. However, ethics come along into it, which is where we get our minds rattled. And it's also where I quit talking because I have a headache right now.

[s243a]

I don’t really know how much cloning will help enhance our lives. I think genetic engineering has much more prose in terms of the benefits to society. Unfortunately, the question of who regulates genetic engineering could be very difficult.

[burgen]

s243a, on Feb 1 2005, 12:50 AM, said:

I don’t really know how much cloning will help enhance our lives. I think genetic engineering has much more prose in terms of the benefits to society. Unfortunately, the question of who regulates genetic engineering could be very difficult.

genetic engineering is happening now, almost every gene in human has been cloned and half of them are studied in detail. hunderds of genes have been knocked out of mouse one by one to see the effects. Many of the drugs in hospital (not drug store) are the products of genetic engineering. more and more plants are engineered plants now, corn, rice, tomato, even chicken, pork, beef.
It is everywhere.
again about cloning a species like tiger, it is not the same tiger when you cloned it. it is more important for us to stop the abuse of environment by human.
It is not natural rule when human power are involved. in fact because of the technology human now have many natural rule are not applied to human any more. human now does not evolve any more.
To protect extincting species, protect the surviving environment is the only way. Cloning is not the way to do it.
Just as you know, there are numerous new species emerging now everyday, but most of them are viruses, bacteria, parasites, due to the change of environment.

[mahesh2k]

well it depends on the human if it is eveil dont make clones if it is good one make clone out of it
that is theme of films but i do not agree

[alexwhin]

no i love cloaning infact if there was another one of me the world would be a better place! lol! na really i like cloaning ( aka sneaking around gods back)

[s243a]

Quote

It is everywhere.
again about cloning a species like tiger, it is not the same tiger when you cloned it. it is more important for us to stop the abuse of environment by human.

That’s right it is a brand new shiny tiger. As far as I am concerned the environment is for people to do with it what they want. As long as future generations have a good quality of life that is what is important. They can see tigers in zoos. As for bring back estinct anamils that would be cool. So what if it is not the same tiger it is a brand spanking new one .

[iwuvcookies]

I'm not against cloning at all. I'm against cloning humans but my idea my change later on. Cloning has so many benefits like stem cell research and stuff like that. I'm pretty sure someone already mentioned it up there. Yes.... With cloning you can advance toward the future. Some people would like to acutally move on and not stay in the past.