The Mind
When I think about cloning, I think of a futuristic scene where mad scientists with their crazy hair and their evil laughs are in their underground labs copying humans with some crazy machine that doesn't even exist. I picture the machine as being some sort of platform where the person stands and a laser beam scanning the person up and down. Then suddenly, poof! A direct copy of the person appears next to them. The only reason that this is the picture I paint in my mind is because of what I have seen in the movies.
The Truth
But, cloning isn't as confusing and futuristic as Hollywood makes it. The process starts by taking an egg from one animal and a skin cell from another. The nucleus of the egg is destroyed through radiation, leaving an enucleated egg. Next, the nucleus is taken from the cell and transferred into the enucleated egg. This will grow into a clone of the second animal, the one that provided the nucleus.
The Truth
The only example of naturally occurring cloning comes in the form of identical twins. Identical twins' DNA is almost exactly the same. Resulting in the twins to look almost exactly the same. They occur when an egg splits in two after it is fertilized. That is why the DNA is so similar. There are also fraternal twins. This is when two eggs are fertilized at the same time. The two can be a girl and a girl, a boy and a boy, or a girl and a boy. Whereas identical twins can only be a girl and a girl or a boy and a boy.
The Mind
I have a twin but we are not identical. We are brother and sister, which is why we are not identical. I think that people assume that because we are twins, that we have the same personality. But they couldn't be more wrong. Lane, my twin, and I are very different people. He is a task master, he likes to get things done right away. I, on the other hand, am a little more of a procrastinator. I like to relax for a little while before I start my home work. But in the end, we both get done what needs to get done.
The Truth
In 1996, a successfully cloned lamb was born, Dolly. That launched new ideas about cloning and what it could do for the world. But, this was uncharted territory. Questions were raised. Ethical issues were brought forth. These include, and still include, cloning someone without their knowledge and destroying embryos. People believe being cloned without consent is unethical because they might not want a second one of them walking around on this earth when they are. Destroying embryos is absolutely an ethical issue. Every person starts out as an embryo, so taking them for stem cell research eliminates the possibility of a human life.
The argument of people not wanting another one of themselves walking around can be put to rest because cloning isn't a direct copy of a person. The clone starts out as an egg, like everyone does, and grows like a normal person from there. They are carried by a mother and delivered after the usual nine months. For example, if a fifty year old were being copied, the clone would not just instantly be fifty years old. The clone would be decades younger than the original.
But, many people are greatly bothered by these ethical problems. I assume this is why some states have banned cloning.
There are great benefits to stem cell research as well. This research can provide a way to cure diseases. If someone had a rare skin disease that couldn't be cured with antibiotics or other medicines, they could have a stem cell transplant. The patient would have their cells cloned, then, there diseased cells would be removed and replaced with the healthy cloned cells. Because of this possibility, a little boy's life was saved.
In 2011, a 5-year-old ,Charlie Knuth, had an adult stem cell transplant to fix his rare skin disease, Epidermolysis Bullosa. This disease caused him to have sores that covered his entire body. He had blisters and would bleed, his skin would fall off. He was taken to the University of Minnesota for a stem cell transplant.
After the procedure, his condition has improved immensely. The amount if sores on his body have decreased dramatically and now he is able to wear shoes and touch others without the pain he used to experience.
The Truth
Going past the medical benefits, there are plenty more amazing things that cloning can bring to this world. Bringing back extinct animals is one of those other benefits. Most DNA is damaged during fossilization. But, if the fossil is in excellent condition, it could produce "enough molecules to generate a cloneable genome."(Scientific American, 2010). The only extinct animal that has been cloned, as of 2010, was a bucardo. It was a type of ibex that went extinct in 2000. But it died shortly after birth because of lung problems.
The Mind
Even though Lane and I are brother and sister, people, mix us up more than you would think. And, it's mostly my parents. Whenever I answer the phone, the person on the line always thinks I am Lane. Apparently we sound similar over the phone. My dad always gets us mixed up over the phone. Maybe my voice is slightly masculine or something because I don't think we sound similar. Sometimes when my dad istalking to me, he will get our names mixed up. He'll say, "So how was school today Lane-sey?" It turns into a convoluted mess. I don't understand why this happens; my dad has been with me all my fourteen years and some how he manages to mix us up.
The Truth
Scientists have more trouble cloning humans than animals. The cloned human cells have a tendency to produce an extra set of chromosomes, making three sets instead of the normal two. The chromosomes are in the nucleus. It works with animals because when the nucleus is replaced with the nucleus of an adult cell, something causes the egg to behave like it is fertilized. This creates the desired embryo. But when human cells were tested, it only worked when the nucleus of the adult cell was inserted into an egg that already had it own nucleus. This caused the embryonic cell to have three sets of chromosomes. One from the egg, and two from the adult cell. Therefor, these cells cannot be used for stem cell transplants. Dieter Egli, a researcher at the New York Stem Cell foundation believes that if researchers are able to pull out the egg's nucleus after the reprogramming but before the nuclei have the time to merge together, there is a possibility of making stem cells that could be used in patients.
The Mind
I am glad I don't have an identical twin. I feel that they would have more rivalries, who has better style, or who has more friends, that kind of thing. That could lead to jealousy. Also, we wouldn't have to share clothes. Because Lane and I aren't the same gender, we don't have those rivalries. I think that that can take a lot of stress out of a person's life is to get rid of jealousy or always feeling the need to be as good someone else. But like having a twin, we help each other with homework and other issues. We both feel comfortable with going to one another with our problems. I trust Lane, and I assume he trusts me. We have a great bond that I feel most siblings don't have.


Works Cited

Choi, Charles Q. "Cloning of a Human." Scientific American (2010): Vol. 302 Issue 6. p36-38 (2010). ELM Portal. Web. June 2010.
Hesman Saey, Tina. "Cloning Method Yields Stem Cells." Science News Vol. 108, Issue 10, p8-8 (2011). ELM Portal. Web. 5 November 2011.
Murphy, Esme. "Families Say Cloning Embryonic Cells Saves Lives." CBS Minnesota (2011): n. page. Web. 31 March 2011.