'IIIB WIit's iaBI: Cloning Scientific progress

There are many strong feelings dwindling in the air recently about the controversial subject of cloning. Ethics is the main concern of much of the population. I certainly understand how cloning can get to the point of being unethical; however, are people aware of the many benefits cloning can reap?

Let's first start with animal cloning. In February 1997, a sheep named Dolly was born at PPL Therapeutics in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult mammal.

Widespread animal cloning will harbor several medical, agricultural and industrial benefits.

For example, one of the most certain and exciting prospects of cloning is the mass production of cheaper and more efficient drugs. Several drugs are now produced based on human proteins. Through cloning, scientists will be able to genetically engineer a certain animal to naturally produce this protein, mass breed the animal, and therefore produce a large supply. These drugs are ordinarily scarce and expensive.

day carry organs very similar to human organs. These animals could be mass produced as a large supply of organ donors. This could potentially diminish the need for an organ recipient waiting list.

Animal cloning might also be the answer to saving endangered and even extinct animals. In late November 2000, a cow in Iowa gave birth to a gaur, a rare ox-like animal from India. This was the first birth of an endangered species made possible through cloning.

For the sake of medicine I believe animal cloning to be 'an exciting and necessary step. I myself am against inhumane and unnecessary animal testing. However, I would prefer potentially life-saving drugs be tested on animals rather than humans. The same goes for animal cloning. The potential benefits are too high to ignore.

The extremely controversial subject, though, is human cloning. Before anyone starts to get hot and bothered, let's look at the potential benefits of human cloning.

A human clone is not a carbon copy of the cloned individual. It is merely an identical twin. Therefore, the clone would have his or her own personality and tastes, and therefore, the same rights as any other human.

Through human cloning, scientists would be able to study genes and find new ways to treat genetic diseases.

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A more specific example takes us back to PPL Therapeutics. In a 1998 article for Scientific American, Dr. Ian Wilmut, a researcher at PPL Therapeutics explained how the company's sheep have been altered.

Wilmut's sheep were injected with a gene for human factor IX, a blood clotting protein used to treat hemophilia B. Sheep could then be bred specifically for supplying this protein.

A similar process would have cattle being altered to carry other important nutrients in their milk in order for milk drinkers to receive more health benefits.

Although it is less certain, animals may be able to one

According to US attorneys, it may be unconstitutional to deny infertile couples the right to pursue cloning as an option in order to give birth to a child of their own.

Arguing human cloning is a difficult subject. I do not agree with producing embryonic cells through cloning in order to gain healthy organs for other humans. However, I hope I have familiarized some of the readers with the potential benefits of cloning.