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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Apr 2009 : 13:08:13
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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health--Science/Iran-says-it-has-cloned-a-goat/articleshow/4408748.cms
FROM LOUISE BROWN TO DOLLY: BY KAYJATTA
Introduction:
I intend to discuss cloning, a procedure that is very controversial and has the potential of transforming human nature and existence in profound ways.
Biotechnology, especially reproductive technology (or repro-genetics) is one area that is pushing the frontiers of reproductive innovation beyond the wildest dreams. These techniques, especially cloning has generated so much controversy because of both of its enormous hopes and fears. Cloning is transforming our attitudes and convictions in unprecedented ways. Genetic engineering and cloning could potentially eliminate many of the diseases that afflict mankind today such as cancer, diabetes, etc; but it could also result in unexpected complications involving genes whose roles and functions are not fully understood.
What is cloning?
Cloning might be considered a simple reproductive method used by lower organisms. It does not involve the mixing or union of genetic materials or gametes from the male and the female, called fertilization. Instead one adult organism splits into two or more daughter cells through mitosis (normal cell division), each of which then grows into separate adults. Bacteria and many other single-celled organisms, but also banana and cassava plants reproduce this way. Since there is no sharing of genetic materials, the offspring is a carbon copy of the parent. Organisms created through asexual reproduction generally all share the same fate; susceptibility to disease and viability. They generally lack the hybrid vigor characteristic of the progenies of sexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction has evolved in higher organisms partly to contain disease due to infection and gene mutation in the population of the species. Cloning, even if accompanied with creative tinkering of the genes inevitably carries the unpredictable risks inherent in in-breeding. However, there are different definitions of cloning; and two types of cloning are generally recognized:
1. Embryo splitting
2. Cell nuclear replacement.
Embryonic splitting is the process that occurs in nature to give rise to identical twins in the uterus. This process can also be mimicked in the laboratory, Harris, H. (2004).
Nuclear replacement is a procedure of replacing the nucleus of one cell with that of another cell. It is the procedure used in the creation or cloning of Dolly, the sheep.
There is plenty of literature, both scientific and otherwise about cloning. I will use sources from the internet as well as textbooks and articles.
My goals will be the following:
1. I will also examine the history of cloning in the light of the ongoing social debate about the issue.
2. I intend to discuss the birth of the first cloned sheep, Dolly and the controversy that surrounded that event.
3. I will explore the possibility of human cloning with respect to ethical and human rights concerns raised by critics.
4. I will discuss trends in methodology and techniques of cloning and their application in popular culture.
5. I will also discuss the field trip I took with regards to this topic.
Overview:
Cloning is a method of replicating life without fertilization. It is an asexual method of reproduction.
The creation of life has pre-occupied mankind for a long time. Even before the publication of Mary Shelley’s book Frankenstein, numerous scientists and experimenters have dabbled with the idea of recreating life from death organs and tissues. It is either done by embryo splitting or cell nuclear replacement.
Much of the discussion about creating life and cloning remained fiction for a long time, however. The birth of Dolly, the world-famous cloned sheep marked the reawakening of interest and concern about cloning.
The development of the cloning technology is divided into five stages:
Ø Fiction
Ø Joshua Lederberg and frog clones
Ø The birth of Louise Brown
Ø Human twinning
Ø Sheep cloning
Cloning and genetic engineering raises heated debate about ethics and human rights. However, more information and time appears to douse much of the fire from reactions to cloning. The exhibition, Bodies Revealed where dead and sliced human bodies and displayed for public view illustrated how tolerant we have become of information and technology that once was preserve of medical laboratories only.
Observation:
The debate around cloning is far from settled. However, much of the heat has dissipated over time. Huxley’s vision has generally come to pass. The success of the Gene Genies Worldwide boutique in Pasadena, California, as well as the Germinal Choice, a sperm bank selling the sperms of Nobel laureates and top athletes; are modest indications of how far we have come as far as cloning and genetic engineering are concerned. Shannon Brownlee of the Washington Post posited that “Today Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn would have been diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder and medicated; tomorrow they might not be allowed out of the Petri dish”. This statement summed up how genetic engineering has come to revolutionize reproductive technology.
It appeared that germ line genetic intervention would become trendy in the near future as suggested by the renown geneticist and co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA, James Watson; “But evolution can be just damn cruel, and to say that we’ve got a perfect genome and there is some sanctity to it, I‘d just like to know where the idea comes from. It’s utter silliness …if we could make better human beings by knowing how to add genes, why shouldn’t we do it?” Lightman, et al (2003).
Reproductive technology is proliferating, and assisted reproductive technology industry is a multi-million dollar business in the United States at least. This coupled with the fact that there is currently very little regulation of the repro-genetic services; we are already experiencing 60,000 births from donor insemination, 15,000 from IVF, and 1000 from surrogates. Lightman, et al (2003).
Part of the reason reproductive technology is harder to regulate is that it is easy to run, inexpensive and widely available.
The recent announcements by Japanese scientists to have resurrected mice that have died 16 years ago by cloning have generated debate about the recreation of long extinct fauna and flora. (National Geographic News, November 3, 2008). Yet the implications of this on the environment are unclear. The drive to find treatment and cures for debilitating diseases will perhaps be the single biggest reason for cloning technology.
Literature review; the history of cloning
The history of cloning is a long one, and will perhaps be convenient to treat it under five stages, Humber, J., et al (1998):
a) Fiction
b) Joshua Lederberg and frog clones
c) The birth of Louise Brown
d) Human twinning
e) Sheep cloning
Fiction: This stage is characterized by fictional publications; short stories and novels about the science and ethic of cloning. This period perhaps began with the publication of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in 1818. Frankenstein cautions about the unpredictable danger of scientific research to create life.
Huxley’s 1932 science fiction, Brave New World, Charles Eric Maine’s World without Men (1958), and Paul Anderson’s Virgin Planet (1959) renewed the discussion of cloning. C.S. Lewis’ 1947 lecture, The Abolition of man is the earliest public nonfiction commentary on cloning, Humber, J., et al (1998). Lewis argued that with cloning the values of the present generation could irrevocably change the destiny of generations to come.
Joshua Lederberg and frog clones: This stage continued the fiction stage with Nancy Freedman’s 1973 publication of Joshua, Son of None, Ben Bova’s Multiple Man in 1976, and Ira Levin’s tale of 96 Adolph Hitters in The Boys from Brazil in 1970.
Dr. Lederberg’s article Experimental Genetics and Human Evolution, (1966) speculated the many positive applications of genetic engineering and cloning. This marks the start of the most serious discussion of cloning. Paul Ramsey’s book, The Fabricated Man, attempts to challenge Lederberg on the promises of cloning, but he admitted to some of the benefits of cloning such as:
I. To copy a desired individual
II. To become a biological parent without the risk of passing on a disease to the off-springs
III. To control the sex of off-springs
IV. To create human beings with compatible organs
In 1970, Alvin Toffler published his book, Future Shock, in which he argued that cloning will provide us with empirical evidence to resolve the long time controversy over nature vs. nurture.
Joseph Fletcher, a utilitarian and a proponent of cloning, is perhaps the most controversial. In his book The Ethics of Gene Control, he argued that reproduction between consenting adults is a right and that cloning like family relationships maximizes happiness.
Leon Eisenberg also expressed in the Journal of Medicine and philosophy a great concern for government intervention in cloning. He argued that the technology of cloning must not be regulated by the legislature.
1977 marked the end of the Lederberg era, the second stage of the historical development of cloning, with the publication of the book Who Should Play God? by Ted Howard and Jeremy Rifkin which was highly critical of cloning. Rifkin argued that any technology that has the potential of changing life and humanity drastically should be restricted.
The birth of Louise brown: This stage is remarkable because it marked the beginning of the actual manipulation of human embryos, and the possibility of producing children in the science laboratory became reality for the first time.
The birth of Louise Brown was the scientific proof that in vitro fertilization (IVF) actually worked. This event was shortly followed by David Rorvik’s book In His Image: The Cloning of A Man which narrated the story of a millionaire who financed a scientist to create a clone of him. This possibility, described by some as a form of narcissism generated a lot of controversy including a Congressional investigation of Rorvik’s work.
This stage has witnessed an increased contribution by secular and legal thinkers in the ongoing debate about cloning, unlike earlier stages that were largely dominated by theological thinkers.
In the middle of the 1980s, a presidential commission’s report, Splicing Life: The Social and Ethical Issues of genetic Engineering cautiously approved of genetic engineering but ignored human cloning because it did not consider it feasible. Both Edward Yoxen’s In The gene Business, and the movie GATTAGA explored the possibility that cloning will be used to perpetuate inequality and discrimination. Jeremy Rifkin even went further to warn that cloning will be used the way the Nazis used eugenics or the way Americans used the concept to sterilize the mentally retarded. Rifkin, J. (Algeny, 1983).
Modern biotechnology is derived in part from the concept of the human body as a machine, the so-called machine metaphor in which the body parts, cells, tissues and organs can be interchangeable. Making Babies (1984) by Peter Singer and Deane Wells also cautioned about cloning. Fay Weldon’s nonfiction, The Cloning of Joanna May (1989) re-echoed Lederberg’s optimism about cloning but cautioned that while cloning of cells will remain an important research tool, there is no rational basis for human cloning.
Human Twinning:
Art Caplan, a bioethicist at the George Washington University brought the cloning debate to the forefront when he called The New York Times about the twinning research that was just started at the university. The appearance of the reporters instead of traditional books is what characterizes this stage. Journalist, the media and cyberspace became the main platform for the debate about cloning.
This stage also witnessed a shift from traditional books to movies and films. In the early 1990s fictions such as Jurassic Park where dinosaurs were cloned from DNA remains, Multiplicity where Michael Keaton cloned himself, and Star Trek: The Next Generation rejuvenated interest in cloning.
Sheep Cloning:
Nature had just announced the existence of Dolly, on February 27; 1997 the world’s first cloned sheep. The birth of Dolly further confirmed that the necessary tools for human cloning may be already available, that the actual human cloning may be only a matter of time. Again the world has seen a reaction of outrage and condemnation. Much of this debate and reaction was played out on the new media, list servers, internet, and news programs and in news publications. This new trend of communication has spread the debate about cloning from the halls of academia and into popular discussions.
Much of the heat about cloning has since dissipated from the public mind. Therefore much of the literature about cloning recently is in acceptance of cloning and genetic engineering. The concept of the machine metaphor appears to have taken hold. The public acceptance of biotechnology is modestly illustrated by this exhibition in Kansas city, Missouri.
The exhibition ‘Bodies Revealed’ in Kansas City for example which displayed dead and sliced human bodies, the skin removed neatly so that the internal organs, muscles, tendons, nerves, blood vessels and bones are visible.
It is an amazing experience to get a chance to view the natural bodies of real, one-time living people (and fetuses in various stages of development). The beauty, wonder, and complexity of the human body which once used to be an exclusive experience of medical doctors are very fascinating in deed.
I had a prior training in biology and I had my fair share of seeing human body parts, but the displays at this exhibition nonetheless are a novel experience.
The sources of the bodies are not clear, but it is believed that some are from universities in China, and were originally for medical research purposes. I also understand that there was no available personal information about any of the bodies that were on display.
Advance technology:
The process that was used to prepare the bodies uses an advance technology called polymer impregnation, invented by a German anatomist in 1977. The procedure involves immersing the bodies in a solution to prevent dehydration and degradation of the cells, then water is removed from the cells and tissues and replaced with liquid plastic. This procedure is odorless and free of toxins; it also makes it possible to display the bodies in a variety of postures and positions.
Relevance:
There were lots of people at the exhibition, students, academic professional, and the general population-adults, children, men and women. And I understand the general reaction was very positive, despite some criticisms on ethical and human rights grounds. I particularly found the exhibition very interesting because it is relevant to my project topic, cloning.
1. It enables better understanding of how one’s own body works, such as how the joints, muscles and the organs are all interconnected.
2. It enables one to be better informed about his / her health issues, such as the effect of smoking on the lungs and how disease generally affects the body.
Criticisms:
There are critics of this display of human bodies.
1. Some of the critics point out the potential human rights abuses that can be associated with this kind of acquiring and utilization of dead human bodies. This argument particularly lends credibility to the fact that some of the bodies are alleged to have come from China, a country with a disastrous human rights record.
2. Others criticize the project on ethical grounds. Almost everyone experience that initial squeamishness feeling of viewing the ‘sacred’ naked human body in public display.
Conclusion:
Cloning has a huge potential in medical application. Stem cells for example have the capacity to give rise to different cell types and to develop into different body tissues and organs. Just recently it has been announced that British scientists have successfully transplanted a trachea cloned from the patient’s own blood marrow cells. This is a huge development that carries enormous promises for mankind.
But I am also aware of the historical context of our continued obsession with scientific research and experimentation, especially in the area of human anatomy. I had a cautious feeling of the possibility that this could be a slight but important variant in our drive towards human cloning. I could not help recalling Victor Frankenstein’s obsession with human anatomy and his eventual creation of a human-monster through a laboratory experimentation that bear a crude resemblance to modern day cloning.
The idea of wholesaling graphic human exhibits (which otherwise would be confined to the pathologist’s laboratory) to the general population without screening may trigger consequences that are subtle but nonetheless far reaching and undesirable.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPGY
1. Harris, John. On Cloning. London, New York Taylor & Francis, 2004.
This is a book that introduces the birth of the world-famous cloned sheep, Dolly and the controversy as well as the interest it has generated on the international stage about the ethics and relevance of such scientific and technological innovation. This book is very relevant for anyone doing research in cloning or genetic engineering.
2. Humber, James M.; Almeder, Robert F. Human Cloning. Totowa, N.J. Humana Press, 1998.
This book examines the history of cloning culminating in the successful cloning for the first time of a mammal, Dolly the sheep. The book examines the history of cloning in the light of the social debate that has been raging around the subject of cloning. This book will very resourceful for researchers of biological sciences as well as social scientists.
3. Burley, Justine. The genetic revolution and Human Rights. Oxford University Press (UK), 1999.
This book discusses the assumption that human cloning is inevitable. It also introduces the ethical and moral dilemma that cloning of humans might present, especially from a human rights perspective. It is a highly recommendable read for the researcher interested in the ethical, moral, and human rights debates of emerging technologies especially cloning.
4. Amitabh, Avasthi. Mice Frozen 16 Years Ago “Resurrected” by cloning. National Geographic News, November 3, 2008.
This article illustrates that frozen animal tissue can be used to produce clones. The research raises hopes of resurrecting extinct species from their frozen remains. While it is still not clear whether this procedure will work in cells that have been frozen over very long periods, the findings in the paper are a breakthrough that no serious researcher in the field of biotechnology can ignore.
5. Andrews, Lori, B. changing Conceptions. Living With the Genie, (2003, P. 105-128).
This essay examines the current trends in genetic engineering and their application in popular culture. It offers an in depth analysis of societal demand and receptiveness of genetic and reproductive engineering, and possible impact of these on human society and culture.
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Edited by - kayjatta on 17 Apr 2009 13:19:21 |
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kayjatta
2978 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2009 : 08:56:23
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HANNA AND THE BOMB (draft copy):
Kayjatta.
Hanna and the bomb
Iran’s misguided pursuit of science
An illicit nuke program
To give birth to a goat
Hanna, the goddess of terror
Our tears and blood for Roxana
It wasn’t Artemis who stole the fire
To bring forth the world
By eight years out of humanity
He thrust his chest
The flirting call of a Zoroastrian male
Who wouldn’t sing for you at night, Roxana
But for Hanna and the bomb
Hanna, the goddess of terror
Blasphemous of science
Can Iran even make the bomb?
Those fearful as the Gulf of Aden
May gaze the stars for the next call
There will be no call for this fetus
But our tears and blood for Roxana
The daughter of truth and justice
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