PlanetPapers.com RSS Feedhttps://www.planetpapers.com/ genetic engineering Dr. Bernard D. Davis, professor of bacterial physiology at Harvard medical school in Cambridge, stated “that after twenty years of expanding experience with biotechnology with no detectable harm to humans or to the environment, this concern has turned into a good idea” (qtd. In Bender and Leon 23). Genetic engineering is defined as the scientific alteration of the structure of genetic material in living organisms. Although under heavy scrutiny, genetic engineering will someday be used to cure genetic diseases, breed enhanced plants and animals, and produce low-cost medicines. Many diseases, including cancers, are caused by defective genes that scientists are unable to cure. Treatments that replace missing enzymes require repeated injections, and organ transplants have a high risk of rejection by the body’s immune system. With cancer causing 500,000 deaths in the United States each year alone, it is clear that new treatments are necessary. The introduction of a promising method is gene therapy-a type of treatment in which the doctor introduces a helpful gene into a patience’s cell to produce an essential protein that the patient lacks. For instance, the first gene-therapy trial was performed in September 1990 by a group of doctors on a four-year-old-girl who suffered from a rare form of cancer ¹. Using genetically modified cells for a period of time, these brave doctors gave a second chance of life to a terminally ill girl. The use of gene therapy is controversial. Some people are concerned that it may permanently alter the basic material of human beings if genes from other species are used, however, by doing so an opportunity arises to provide a spark of faith to a four-year-old girl. Just think, waking up to a bright sunny day, treating yourself to a flavorful omelet made with cholesterol free eggs, enjoying sausages with less 99% less fat, and a glass of milk with added calcium and vitamins all without losing an ounce of taste. If genetic engineering was to be used on the farm, this would become a reality. Although genetic engineering farm animals are insufficient and needs improvement, dairy cattle can be genetically modified to increase the content of the milk protein, thus producing healthier milk to drink and in larger quantities. Also high on this list is to make cows, sheep, goats, and pigs leaner and more resistant to illnesses. By providing health attention at a young stage, farmers can reduce the costs of vaccinations, 2006-10-11T05:37:29-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/genetic-engineering-6603.aspx Cloning in General-Con The Cloning Essay When you hear the word cloning, you know that it’s going to start a debate. This is because people are greatly divided on whether it’s good or bad. A way to reach a conclusion is to look at cloning from ethical, risk, and religious perspectives. The reality is, cloning is unethical, very risky, and irreligious. The arguments I will make will hopefully convince you that cloning is not good for the future. Cloning is very unethical. It would be violating the human rights in many ways. It would be violating of the freedom of beliefs and thoughts Cloning also reduces human dignity. Humans can be sold as manufactured products. If we allow that, we would be violating others human rights. One of them is that no one should be held in slavery or servitude. Cloning also threatens individuality and uniqueness. Life would be very dull considering the fact that everyone would have the same personality. If we follow this to the future, one wouldn’t want to live in that kind of world. The process of cloning involves killing a great number of embryos; which one also find unethical. Furthermore, cloning would be playing God. God has already devised a good and proper plan to make babies. Why mess with it? If god doesn’t want you to have babies, then you shouldn’t have babies, it’s as simple as that. At least to the majority of the believers in God. An argument could be put forth that curing someone is interfering with God’s plan. My reply to that would be that it is not because curing someone is far more different that creating a new life and tampering with the way god created life. We should try to stick with God’s rules and his natural order instead of trying to make God’s rules. If we do interfere with this, we’ll interfere with natural evolution. If we interfere with natural evolution than who knows what other problems might occur? Cloning is a big step for the future, and everyone who defends cloning is too caught up with this new process of making new life, and not thinking about the consequences. Some of you don’t know that killer bees were created by scientists. These scientists were too caught up with the bees, trying to make them better. But the bees escaped and turned out to be 2004-11-10T01:56:41-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cloning-in-General-Con-5878.aspx Clones & other forms of Genetic Engineering are all wrong & can never be justified. Do you agree? Argue a case for or against Clone is the title given to any organisms that are genetically identical. Cloning can be classified as a form of genetic engineering including AID (Artificial Insemination Donor) and AIH (Artificial Insemination Husband) and IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation). AID is the injecting of the semen of a male donor into the woman’s womb and AIH is the same with the difference that the semen is of the husband These forms of ‘artificial’ conception have been questioned especially within religions as they can be seen as unnatural and an attempt to meddle with nature. The two methods of cloning are reproductive and therapeutic. Whilst reproductive cloning leads to the creation of a human life and is intended to be made specifically illegal by the government, therapeutic cloning is the creation of embryos with the intent of destroying them once their purpose, i.e. to be experimented on, has been fulfilled. At present, parliament has allowed scientists to clone for research which is potentially lethal as well as immoral as the embryo has only one purpose of its life- to be experimented on and then necessarily eradicated. Human cloning, i.e. reproductive cloning places the creation of new life in other hands than those of God. It usurps Gods role as the Almighty Creator. Cloning gives humans control over human fertility and therefore a possible utopia for those in future generations and while it sounds appealing and constructive in the present, it may not be the best idea when it the apparent utopia comes into action; it would create vast boundaries between what used to be individual families but instead turns into individual utopias into what can only be interpreted as a competition for the best ‘utopia’. However it is not man’s job to create its own world, mans job is simply to live in the world created by God for us. Life is said to be a sacred gift from conception; the embryo has personhood from the point of conception. Once cloning is successful there will be no distinction between it and any other embryo. Each person has their own unique genetic ‘signature’ which gives them their identity; with cloning no person can be unique. In a sense, death will no longer mean anything because if one identity is lost, there will still be another ‘copy’. People will be replaceable-no one will die. Although eternal death may seem appealing, it is the hardships 2004-02-22T14:11:25-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Clones-other-forms-of-Genetic-Engineering-are-all-wrong-can-never-be-justified_-Do-you-agree-5470.aspx Task: Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of genetic engineering with specific reference to GENERAL STUDIES Task: Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of genetic engineering with specific reference to Gattaca? Gattaca, a film, takes place in the near future, in a time when genetic engineering technology is used is used to create a perfect society. Gatttaca’s main character, Vincent, is genetically inferior; he was conceived by natural birth, rather than genetically engineered, which means that throughout his life is guaranteed discrimination. Vincent has dreams of becoming a scientist at Gattaca, but being of natural birth, he has almost no chance of ever working there. During the later stages of the 20th century, man harnessed the power of the atom, and not after, soon realised the power of genes. Genetic engineering is going to become a very mainstream part of our live eventually, because there are so many possibilities advantages and disadvantages involved. Here are some of the advantages: Diseases could be prevented by detected by detecting people/plants/animals that are genetically prone to certain hereditary diseases, and preparing for the inevitable. In addition, infectious diseases can be treated by implanting genes that code for antivirus proteins specific to each antigen. Animals and plants can be “tailor made” to show desirable characteristics. Genes could also be manipulated in trees for example, to absorb more CO2 and reduce the treat of global warming. Genetic Engineering could increase genetic diversity, and produce more variant alleles, which could also be crosses over and implanted into other species. It is possible to alter the genetics of wheat plants to grow insulin for example. Of course, there are two sides to the coin; here are some possible eventualities and disadvantages: Nature is an extremely complex inter-related chain consisting of many species linked in the food chain. Some scientists believe that introducing modified genes may have an irreversible effect with consequences yet unknown. Genetic Engineering borderlines on many moral issues, particularly involving religion, which questions whether man has the right to manipulate the law and course of nature. Genetic Engineering may be one of the greatest breakthrough in recent history alongside the discovery of the atom and space fight, however, with the above eventualities and facts above in hand, government have produced legislation to control what sort of experiments are done involving genetic engineering. In the UK there are strict laws prohibiting any experiments involving the cloning of humans. However, over the years here are some of the experimental “breakthroughs” made possible by genetic engineering. At 2004-01-16T19:55:38-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Task-Do-the-advantages-outweigh-the-disadvantages-of-genetic-engineering-with-specific-reference-to-5415.aspx An Argument for Cloning In February of 1997 the biotechnology firm PPL Therapeutics in association with the Roslin Institute of Edinburgh, Scotland announced the first successful fully cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep. While the majority of people have come to terms with the emotional and philosophical dilemmas triggered by the birth of Dolly, the world was ridden with panic by the Raelian claim of cloning the first human being. The Raelians have yet to demonstrate any evidence to support their human cloning experiment, but have managed to add fuel to the already burning debate pertaining to the acceptability of human cloning in our society. The arguments created against cloning focus on religious issues, the health risks involved in the procedure, and personality and identity issues within the cloned subject. However, cloning of humans and human organs in our society should be permissible according to many scientific arguments; the arguments against the moral permissibility of cloning are neither coherent nor convincing. Many biomedical technologies such as organ transplants, blood transfusions, in vitro fertilization, and life-support systems, although considered unnatural, are hailed for their benefits and advancements in improving the quality of life. Nevertheless, many religious people and institutions claim that the practice of cloning is unnatural; “If god would have wanted us to clone ourselves, he would have given us a way for a-sexual reproduction”. However, not all religions think the same way; “some Jewish and Muslim religious leaders testified before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission that they feel embryo and cloning research might provide discoveries that would lead to an appropriate way to counter infertility”. The religious appeals of the Catholic Church to dismiss cloning are hypocritical in relation to the churches acceptance to use other unnatural forms of biotechnology. Conversely, scientists and officials involved in the regulation of cloning agree that no human cloning should be performed until the risks and consequences of the technology are completely understood. These problems are considered a technical issue and not a moral one. Once this technology becomes reliable, techniques such as therapeutic cloning can be implemented. Therapeutic cloning is specifically designed not to create complete individuals, but rather to create organs to heal people. However, many experts agree that the public’s concerns and fears about the health issues regarding cloning are valid. “Parties have a concern about the mutation of genes” because these mutations would have an effect on both 2003-12-14T22:27:19-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/An-Argument-for-Cloning-5364.aspx Identity through Normality Here we stand before the Lord today, at the threshold of the very breakthrough that could someday lead us to leave his almighty shadow, and stand beside him as creators of Life. Yet as we strive to leave that dark and desolate valley of mortality, we continue to wallow in that darkness within His darkness, the darkness of hate, the darkness of deceit, the darkness of our brothers and sisters, who continue to envy and detest and taunt one another. Are such beings capable of grasping the enigma of life, the power capable of creating another being, and still possess the self-mastery to control ourselves, and not thirst from the cup of corruption to quench our thirst for power? How can we? Should not we first master ourselves, and rid the world of deceit and hate and envy before we create others who may, over the course of time, release the full strengths of these attributes? Is not the Lord an almighty being, which none may equal in omnipotence or benevolence? Yet those who can achieve the highest levels of mental knowledge are presented with, in that they are not prohibited from, the opportunity to, in a sense, play with and abuse his magnanimous tools of Creation. If we continue on this path, then the powers will unleash themselves from their bonds of silence, and render our entire Earth in darkness. The dark and desolate valley of Normality will be exalted above the sunlit paths of Identity, and the solid stone of Personality will be rendered useless beneath the slithering quicksands of Uniformity. Is this truly the world the Founding Fathers of any, every country had hoped for when they breathed life into each individual nation? We must not let identity become normality in a world that will eventually become engulfed in eternal darkness, the darkness of the tangled web of the perverted arachnid Incest. Identity must not become normality in a world where the flow of the waters of Justice and the mighty stream of Righteousness are halted in their cascade, delayed by the dark pit of an unknown sentient being in their paths, dug by indecision and doubt of emotional activity. Identity must not become normality in a world where armies of identical beings are sent to doom, their reins held loosely in the hands of nations, pawns of their superiorly ancestral brothers and sisters. Identity must not become normality 2003-11-21T01:25:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Identity-through-Normality-5281.aspx Genetic Engineering - An ethical argument As the author of ‘The decline and fall of the Roman Empire’, Edward Gibbon, stated ‘All that is human must retrograde if it does not advance.’ As we transcend into the 21st century, we can all look around us and see that transformations have been brought about in nearly every aspect of our lives. We are living in times where we constantly strive for new heights: to create the seemingly impossible, to break records, to make life easier. It is an undisputed fact that we have evolved in numerous ways and one can assuredly recognise the innumerous beneficial changes that the likes of science and technology has brought about in our world today. The efforts of genetic engineers have made a great impact on our world today. In recent years, the development of cloning and genetically modified foods has been a breakthrough in modern science – marking our times as the technologically advanced era. The idea that we may one day clone a human being has been a part of science fiction and scientific debate for generations. However, it was not until 1996, when a group at the Roslin Institute led by British scientist Ian Wilmut had cloned the first adult mammal, the now-famous Dolly the sheep that the world really changed the way it thought about human cloning. Instead of the question being, could we do it…the question now seems to be when will we do it? One thing must be clarified. As Glenn Seaborg quite rightly stated, people must understand that science is inherently a potential to be harnessed by man to do his bidding. Therefore, the opposition’s perception that ‘genetic engineering’ itself creates more harm than good is profoundly invalid. In actual fact, there are innumerous cases to prove otherwise. We must keep in mind that genetic engineering is a relatively modern process, and just like the introduction of any new modern process in the context of their time, strong opposition will always be imminent. Therefore, whilst we concede that genetic engineering does have fallibilities, like the humans who created them, it is research and development that allows them to refine this technology. It is, thus, the product of these refinements that allows human beings to have more options in this world. And this is the stage that we are at. Options being the key word. Genetic Engineering has by no means taken away choice from individuals. Genetic 2002-10-12T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Genetic-Engineering-An-ethical-argument-5042.aspx Human Cloning---Angel or Satan? Since I am majored in biology, I will mainly talk about the topic of human cloning today. Four billion years ago, life arose on the earth. Four billion years later, human beings begin to look into the secrets hidden in the genes, which are the most delicate structure of life. A little over a year ago, scientists completed the Human Genome Project, which is one of the three most important advances in scientific history. Cloning is the major technique developed in the research of genes. To clone means to make genetically identical copies. As for human cloning, it is achieved by putting the genetic material from a donor¡¯s somatic cell into a woman¡¯s egg, which has already had its nucleus removed. That¡¯s to say, the cloning cells share the same genetic materials with the donor. Actually, Scientists have long been studying animal cloning, even earlier than the birth of the sheep Dolly. But when it comes to human cloning, people begin to diverse in their opinions. Some think human cloning as the angel while the others regard it as the Satan. The proponents for human cloning are right. Human cloning gives hope to the couples who can not have their own children. Before the invention of human cloning, they have either to get eggs or sperms from donors or adopt a child, but with human cloning, they could use their somatic cells to create a child of their own. Human cloning also gives rise to the production of stem cells. Stem cells have the ability to develop into all kinds of cells, for example, neuron cells, kidney cells or liver cells, thus stem cells can be used to culture human tissues and organs. Therefore, stem cells are essential materials for both medicine and biology. Stem cells are derived from embryos produced by human cloning. However, the opponents of human cloning are also right. As a student of biology, I know clearly that one success of animal cloning is built on thousands of failures. Most of the embryos die at an early age and many of the survivals are born with serious physiological defects. Most important of all, life is a creation, not a commodity. Children are gifts to be loved and protected, not products to be designed or manufactured, not to be engineered to custom specifications. Then, human cloning with the goal to yield stem cells is not acceptable to most people, because it requires the 2002-08-28T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Human-Cloning-Angel-or-Satan-4967.aspx Cloning -- individualistic and communitarian view In many controversial topics around the world, such as abortion, gun control, legalized drugs, the death penalty, and cloning (to name a few), we can find differing positions, and opinions. Many of these arguments, can be narrowed down to two different views, or constructs: individualistic and communitarian (an image of collectivism). An individualistic viewpoint "stresses the rights of the individual as a unique being" (class review). A communitarian viewpoint is more concerned with the good for the greatest number, "even if an individual must suffer or sacrifice" (class review). These different elements do not necessarily label the people as opposed to, or in favor of the topic here. They just show where your motivations lie, is your involvement for self fulfillment or for the good of society? Within the contents of this paper, I will analyze the elements of individualism and collectivism that exist in the controversial topic of cloning. When Dr. Ian Wilmut, a 52-year-old embryologist at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh announced on that he had replaced the genetic material of sheep's egg with the DNA from an adult sheep, and created a lamb (Dolly), the topic of cloning "created" many new questions of its own. None were as controversial as: Will they apply this to humans as well? According to Dr. Wilmut, the answer was "there is no reason in principle why you couldn't do it"(clone humans), but he added, "All of us would find that offensive."(Wilmut as quoted by NYTimes, Daniel Callahan, 02/26/97). From an individualistic viewpoint, those in favor of cloning human beings, do not see it as morally, or ethically wrong. Many see it as an opportunity to have children, or possibly to "re-create" a child who is dying from a terminal illness. Using a deterministic argument, many infertile couples are worried that any "government restrictions on human cloning might hurt their chances some day for bearing children through new medical technology" ( Newsday, Thomas Maier, 03/14/1997). In a form of expressive individualism, Tom Buckowski, from Studio City, California said, "It's my body, my choice, right? But what if I want my body cloned and warehoused for spare parts? Upon what basis can government decide what I can or cannot do with my body?"(Los Angeles Times, 3/07/1997). In both examples, the predominant voice is that of the first language of individualism. The first language refers to the "individualistic mode that is the dominant American form of 2002-07-23T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cloning-individualistic-and-communitarian-view-4899.aspx Genetic Engineering: The Final Frontier In February of 1997 Dolly, the first successful mammalian clone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. After the extensive news coverage of this momentous event, the study of genetic engineering and recombinant DNA was thrown into the public spotlight. From that day until this peoples, governments and organizations throughout the world have heatedly discussed the issues surrounding genetic modification and engineering. Over the past several years there has been loud public outcry against the use of such experimental procedures because of the possibility of deadly outcomes. Even though not much is known about genetic engineering, in its many forms, this significant discovery has the boundless potential to improve our lives and must be allowed to progress despite the risks it poses and the public outcry against it. It is true that we are just on the brink of discovering all of the dangers and benefits of genetic engineering and there is a lot of important information that still remains unknown. But instead of seeing the immense potential benefits of this mind-boggling discovery, the American public - fed on science fiction novels, horror stories of environmental disaster, a “growing mistrust of science” (Nelkin 1), and the fear of the unknown – automatically reject this god sent breakthrough. Even though the risks are great, the beneficial possibilities are endless. Genetic engineering should be allowed to progress because of the potential benefits for the human species outweigh the consequences. For example, it will be possible for cows to will be genetically engineered to produce pharmaceuticals in their milk. This means that vaccination shots and pills would become obsolete. Babies could be brought up immune to diseases by simply being fed this milk. Imagine the impact on the quality of life for people who live in third world countries like Somalia. Whole countries could be made healthy and immune to disease. Malnutrition, a common problem in many third world countries “where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet” (Whitman 3), could also possibly be cured with genetic engineering. Rice does not provide all of the nutrients that the body needs and in these countries other food is very scarce. If rice or bread, another major staple, are genetically engineered to contain additional necessary vitamins and minerals then we could go a long way towards wiping out malnutrition all over the world. But perhaps, the area 2001-10-08T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Genetic-Engineering-The-Final-Frontier-3825.aspx Perfect World New advancements in science happen everyday. Products may include medicines, fertilizers, household cleaners, durable materials, and more. One of the most controversial issues in the world of science is genetic engineering. Scientists say genetic engineering may bring large advantages to humans and the way they live. Critics argue that genetic engineering can mean the destruction of the pure human being. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages in genetic engineering but disaster can be avoided if extreme caution is practiced. When people used to think of genetic engineering, they thought of genetically enhanced superior food products. That all changed after Dolly, the cloned sheep, was introduced to the world. The recent advances in genetics sparked conversation about cloning human beings. Scientists believe that genetic engineering in humans is the answer to the multitude of problems that millions face everyday. Hereditary baldness, heart problems, mental disorders, and a lot more genetic diseases would cease to exist. The perfect world isn’t that far away. So what could possibly go wrong in a perfect world made up of genetically enhanced organisms? Critics fear that disease-producing organisms used in food products might develop worldwide epidemics. The catholic church says that human cloning is morally wrong. Others don’t want a perfect world. They argue that the ill-bred humans will take away our right to suffer. According to critics, genetically changing the structure of a living thing isn’t worth the risk or sin. The perfect physical world is nearer than anyone can imagine. The anticipated problems can be resolved before they even happen. Epidemics can be avoided by careful procedure, supervision, and inspection. The National Institute of Health already has established regulations restricting the types of DNA that can be used for these types of experiments. The only barrier left is sin. There is nothing man can do to change the word of God. Man’s is willingness to sin for happiness does not differ from stealing or killing for money. Heaven is the sacrifice they have to make to enjoy happiness. Science is an amazing and dangerous world that man seeks to control. Genetic engineering was never intended for man to discover. Now that he has, should he used it for his benefit? There are many advantages as well as disadvantages in genetically changing a being. The arguments of both sides seem to balance evenly. We can have the perfect body eating the perfect nutrients for the price of a perfect 2001-09-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Perfect-World-3697.aspx Human Cloning To consider the cloning of another human being forces me to question the very concepts of right and wrong that make us all human. Until the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be successfully cloned, it was thought that the ability to clone an adult human was impossible or would only be possible somewhere in the distant future! But that has all changed with the birth of Dolly and the explosion of advances in the field of Embryology and genetic screening. These advances are leading the way forward for the cloning of an adult human, which brings up many new ethical and complicated questions that I feel must be addressed by the scientific community and the public, before these advances can reach there full potential. As with any scientific or technological advance, it brings around questions that I feel must be answered: Do the pros out weight the advantages, and more importantly; is it right? Will Human Cloning become a brave new step in fighting disease and improving the quality of life, or will it lead to dehumanisation and a new genetic underclass? People say and strongly believe that biologists are cloning human embryos only to see how far they can push the scientific barriers. However not all things are corrupt, I believe, as do the leaders of Great Britain, that it is possible that the reasons behind Human Cloning, Embryology and genetic screening may be legitimate. Cloning could help improve the life of future generations. Although I still prefer the idea of these scientists spending all this money and their effort on finding a cure for a disease that has or will affect many of us in one way or another: cancer! I still keep an open mind about this subject as most of the embryologists and biologist’s claim that they are doing this as they feel that they have a duty to the improvement of our society, or even perhaps a moral obligation. To this end the techniques have been offered to society as an option for the improvement of humanity. The human race is in the early stages of defining human cloning and what it means. The human race is defining it as a science as opposed to an art or religion, specifically a kind of science that is called Biotechnology. Biotechnology is the study into the design and manufacture of the human body. I believe that 2001-03-07T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Human-Cloning-2999.aspx Is Cloning of Humans Just? Recently there was a major breakthrough in the scientific research – the mapping of all DNA in a human gene is complete. Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to triumph over. All this revolution in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away. Human cloning has always been an issue of controversy, be it in terms of ethically or religiously. Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic defect to a child could make use of cloning. A fertilized ovum could be cloned, and the duplicate tested for the disease or disorder. If the clone was free of genetic defects, then the other clone would be as well. The latter could be implanted in the woman and allowed to mature to term. Moreover, cloning would enable infertile couples to have children of their own rather than using sperm of another man. Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transplant organs. This, surely would be immensely beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single (or more) organ(s). It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unconstitutional and would deprive people of the right to reproduce and restrict the freedom of scientists. Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly viable side. Primarily, I believe that cloning would intervene with the normal ‘cycle’ of life. There would be large number of identical genes, which minimizes the chances of mutation, and, in turn, evolution – the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment. Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely extinction. Furthermore, cloning would eliminate the uniqueness that each one of us posses. Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as ‘objects’ rather than people in the society in grand scale. Scientist haven’t 100 per cent guarantee that the first cloned humans will be normal. Thus, this could result in introduction of additional defects in the human ‘gene-pool’. Regarding such controversial issues in ‘black or while’ approach seems 2001-03-04T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Is-Cloning-of-Humans-Just-2984.aspx The Internet as a means of entertainment If somebody had told me five years ago that I would spend all of my free time in front of my computer screen I would have called him crazy. For me outdoor life has always been much more interesting than staying at home. It took me just one night to realize how important the Internet is for me. That night I spent seven whole hours on-line, just entertaining myself. I now believe that the Internet is quite an effective means of entertainment because I can download pictures, songs and videos, chat and communicate with other people and also play network games. I was really amazed at how interesting information someone can find on the net. Anyone can easily find real funny stories, jokes, poems or entire magazines for free. One can also download pictures of friends, popular actors or favorite singers. Imagine a personal collection of rare pictures of Ricky Martin hanging on your wall "for your eyes only"! Moreover, anyone further interested can download and store songs and their lyrics, videos and games. In addition to the entertaining material you can find on the World Wide Web, is an excellent way of making new acquaintances or even friends. People with similar interests can share information with one another through electronic mail and chat rooms. E-mail is enabling radically new forms of worldwide human collaboration. Approximately 225 millions of people can send and receive it and they all represent a network of potential cooperating individuals. Mailing list discussion and on-line conferencing allow us to gather together to work on a multitude of projects that are interesting or helpful to us. Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and ICQ (I seek you) are two of the most important programs that provide chat rooms, instant messaging and mailing lists that can connect groups of users to discuss a topic, share ideas and get to know each other. However, the most entertaining thing you can do when you are connected is play on-line network games. People from all over the planet can play from "Doom clone" games to flight simulating games simultaneously. There are inexhaustible sources of games available for playing, with plenty of different varieties of each type of game. What, however, could be considered as the most amusing fact of playing network games is that you can play against another "intelligence" instead of the computer. Was it worth spending seven hours in front of my PC? 2000-01-31T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Internet-as-a-means-of-entertainment-1619.aspx Cloning: Why we shouldn't be against it You have been told that you are unique. The belief that there is no one else like you in the whole world made you feel special and proud. This belief may not be true in the future. The world was stunned by the news in late February 1997 that a British embryologist named Ian Wilmut and his research team had successfully cloned a lamb named Dolly from an adult sheep. Dolly was created by replacing the DNA of one sheep's egg with the DNA of another sheep's udder. While plants and lower forms of animal life have been successfully cloned for many years now, before Wilmut's announcement it had been thought by many to be unlikely that such a procedure could be performed on higher mammals. The world media was immediately filled with heated discussions about the ethical implications of cloning. Some of the most powerful people in the world have felt compelled to act against this threat. President Clinton swiftly imposed a ban on federal funding for human-cloning research. Bills are in the works in both houses of Congress to outlaw human cloning which it taken to be a fundamentally evil thing that must be stopped. But what is exactly bad about it? From an ethical point of view , it is difficult to see exactly what is wrong with cloning human beings. The people who are afraid of cloning tend to think that someone will break into Napoleon's Tomb, steal some DNA and make 2000 emperors. In reality, cloning would be probably used by infertile people who now use donated sperm, eggs, or embryos. Do the potential harms outweigh the potential benefits of cloning? From what we know now, they don't. Therefore, we should not rush to ban a potentially useful method of helping infertile, genetically at-risk, or single people to become parents. We can start by asking whether human beings have a right to reproduce. I say " Yes". I have no moral right to tell other people they shouldn't be able to have children, and I don't see that Bill Clinton has that right either. If humans have a right to reproduce, what right does society have to limit the means? Essentially all reproduction is done these days with medical help- at delivery, and even before. Truly natural human reproduction would make pregnancy-related death the number.1 killer of adult women. OF course, some forms of medical 1999-10-16T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cloning-Why-we-shouldn-t-be-against-it-1058.aspx Cloning is Ethically and Morally Wrong The question shakes us all to our very souls. For humans to consider the cloning of one another forces them all to question the very concepts of right and wrong that make them all human. The cloning of any species, whether they be human or non-human, is ethically and morally wrong. Scientists and ethicists alike have debated the implications of human and non-human cloning extensively since 1997 when scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland produced Dolly. No direct conclusions have been drawn, but compelling arguments state that cloning of both human and non-human species results in harmful physical and psychological effects on both groups. The following issues dealing with cloning and its ethical and moral implications will be addressed: cloning of human beings would result in severe psychological effects in the cloned child, and that the cloning of non-human species subjects them to unethical or moral treatment for human needs. The possible physical damage that could be done if human cloning became a reality is obvious when one looks at the sheer loss of life that occurred before the birth of Dolly. Less than ten percent of the initial transfers survive to be healthy creatures. There were 277 trial implants of nuclei. Nineteen of those 277 were deemed healthy while the others were discarded. Five of those nineteen survived, but four of them died within ten days of birth of sever abnormalities. Dolly was the only one to survive (Fact: Adler 1996). If those nuclei were human, "the cellular body count would look like sheer carnage" (Logic: Kluger 1997). Even Ian Wilmut, one of the scientists accredited with the cloning phenomenon at the Roslin Institute agrees, "the more you interfere with reproduction, the more danger there is of things going wrong" (Expert Opinion). The psychological effects of cloning are less obvious, but none the less, very plausible. In addition to physical harms, there! are worries about the psychological harms on cloned human children. One of those harms is the loss of identity, or sense of uniqueness and individuality. Many argue that cloning crates serious issues of identity and individuality and forces humans to consider the definition of self. Gilbert Meilaender commented on the importance of genetic uniqueness not only to the child but to the parent as well when he appeared before the National Bioethics Advisory Commission on March 13, 1997. He states that "children begin with a kind 1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cloning-is-Ethically-and-Morally-Wrong-904.aspx Cloning <center><b>ALL CONSTRAINTS UPON CLONING SHOULD BE LIFED</b></center> Cloning has been a very controversial topic since it affects moral values of human beings and other living things alike. In February 1997 scientists in Scotland announced the birth of the first cloned sheep named Dolly, this heralded the future of cloning possibilities and scientists began extensive experiments on cloning and have since then cloned both plants and animals successfully. The next step was to clone actual human beings but before experiments could have been carried out pressure started build on the scientists because people started to doubt if cloning was ethical and morally correct. Governments began to introduce bans and constraints on cloning, as they felt cloning was not correct and because they represented the people of its country, it had to act on it. Cloning has its cons but its pros seem to overcome them greatly. If cloning were allowed to be experimented scientists would come up of a way to clone body organs which are an exact replica of an individual body organ. This would prove very to be very beneficial to a person who may have lost a body organ such as a kidney, scientists could clone that particular organ for the individual, which, in the long run, would work better than a transplant organ. Cloning will certainly expand the scope of medicine greatly, thus enhance the possibilities of conquering diseases such as the Parkinson's disease, cancer and other diseases that were earlier considered incurable Cloning could be used to increase the population of endangered species of animals and thus save them from total extinction. This would help maintain a natural balance on the earth and have a continuos natural life cycle. Cloning could certainly benefit couples who are infertile and want to have a child of their own, thus they could use cloning to produce a baby with their similar characteristics. In fact they may be able to even choose the characteristics of their child. Equally important women who are single could have child, using cloning instead of artificial insemination. Cloning could also provide a copy of a child for a couple whose child had died. Another goal of cloning is to produce livestock with ideal characters for the agricultural industry and to be able to manufacture biological products such as proteins for humans. Some people would suggest that cloning is unnatural and not ethically correct but so would be talking medicine when you fall 1999-03-31T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Cloning-627.aspx