my Biology teacher,Mrs.Usha Nair, who helped me immensely in the completion of this project by guiding me and solving all my doubts and queries as early as possible and helping me complete my project. I would also like to thank Principal Mrs.Nimisha Singh for providing me with all the facilities that was required to complete this project.I would also like to thank my parents and my classmates who helped me to complete this project and guiding me whenever I needed. INDEX 1. Introduction 2. Statement of problem, objectives 3. Science of HC 4. Role of cloning in research and human health 5. The Low Survival Rate of Clones 6. Clone as an Individualized Entity and Stages of Human Development 7. Moral Issues Related to the Human Cloning. 8. Religious Views Related to Human Cloning 9. Conclusion 10. Bibliography INTRODUCTION
Human cloning can be defined as, the
production of individuals, entities or populations, identical or nearly identical to the parent or original organism, from which they were obtained or derived. Herbert Weber, a plant physiologist, termed it as “clone” (excluded “e”) and used it for plants in agriculture. However, people tried to get popularity while making the science fiction stories about a human being copied formation through cloning. Haldane went on in his 1963 speech on “biological possibilities for the human species of the next ten thousand years, to introduce the scientific community the word “clone ” (including “e ”) to denote the superhumans by genetic cloning. Science of human cloning Before addressing the ethical and legal issues, a brief summary of human development and genetics is necessary to understand human cloning, to distinguish different types of cloning, and to distinguish cloning from other techniques of genetic engineering and manipulation. In order to assess human cloning ethically and legally, it is necessary to start by determining the ontological and legal status of the developing human embryo. The embryo and the foetus are the two primary names given to the unborn human during gestation. Human cloning involves the genetic replication of a human being. The science of genetics, the study of heredity, is a species of molecular biology, and genetics is concerned with the genetic material found in the cells that compose the human body. A cell contains a nucleus which contains chromosomes that carry or bear genes. Almost all of the DNA in a cell is contained in the nucleus, and virtually every cell in the human body contains a human being complete genetic code. Most of the scientific understanding of DNA is about fifty years old. In 1944, Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty determined that; DNA is the agent of genetic transformation.The most famous discovery came in 1953 . When James Watson and Francis Crick The most famous discovery came in 1953 when James Watson and Francis Crick identified the chemical structure of DNA-the double helix-for which they won a Nobel Prize with Crick and Watson Discovery. Fertilization of a human ovum by human sperm results in the full complement of forty-six chromosomes that mark. the human species. This remains true even though the embryonic genome is not actually activated until 4-8 cells are present, at about 2-3 days. The one-celled zygote begins to cleave, or divide, and multiply. The cells resulting from these early cleavages are called blastomeres. The cells resulting from these early cleavages are called blastomeres because they divide mitotically, all blastomeres contain identical chromosomes and genetic information as the original one-celled zygote. Consequently, the blastomeres are considered totipotent or capable, on isolation, of forming a complete embryo. Totipotency means having unlimited developmental capacity. Eventually, this one cell, the zygote, divides into many cells, and these cells differentiate or become specialized. Specialized cells also include the female ovum and male sperm, also called germ cells or gametes. All other cells in the human body (all non-germ cells) are called somatic cells. If, before the cells become differentiated, they are artificially separated in vitro (in glass, outside the womb), they may separately form new individual organisms, a form of artificial twinning. This explains why the early embryo is the focus of scientific experimentation; the developmental capacity of the early cells may be used to develop new medical treatments and therapies. This explains why the early embryo is the focus of scientific experimentation; the developmental capacity of the early cells may be used to develop new medical treatments and therapies. The human zygote or embryo has undoubted genetic individuality. The developing human being sex and its separate and individual genetic identity is determined at fertilization. When the pronuclei of the ovum and sperm are fused-called syngamy- instantaneously, numerous hereditary characteristics of the new individual are determined. Within the one-celled human embryo is contained the entire genetic code of the individual. Role of Cloning in Research and Human Health
Cloning has a great role in human health,
life also in the research discoveries. Human embryonic cells were separated firstly in 1998. It is being used to cure diseases such as neurological problems, Parkinson disease, and heart problems. Although cloning has all those benefits still scientists, ethicists, policy-makers, and religious scholars forbid the cloning in human beings, as it has raised many questions such as ethical, emotional, and moral questions as well by the people. The Low Survival Rate of Clones
There are a lot of risks for the growth and
survival of the clones, and most criticism comes from the scientists who knew about the risks and dangers of human cloning as most of the embryos are lost before they reach their birth stage, and the clones would have certain abnormalities as well. The percentage of cloned organisms to reach the period of adulthood is very low at 0.3% for cows and <1% for sheep. Scientists viewed that the clone production is the wastage of embryos and foetuses. They performed the experiment on the blastocyst of a human. Clone as an Individualized Entity and Stages of Human Development
A human embryo is used for cloning and
research purposes, but ethics and moral values oppose it as this destroys the human embryos. Some persons regard the human embryo as an “individualized entity or a person” that reserve all rights as a human being should have it, as it is the initial stage of human development. Some theological perspectives consider the human beings as an individual, but there are different views about what stage of human beings should be considered against the dignity of an individual. Moral Issues Related to the Human Cloning
There are certain moral and ethical values
that oppose the cloning in human beings. These moral values are dearest to the people from different religious backgrounds. US President Clinton banned the funding related to being given to the trials on human beings cloning and asked the Advisory Commissions to report about the views of peoples within 90 days, as it was a tough job due to confliction in moral and ethical values. Hence, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission consulted to the scientists, theologians, physicians.. Religious Views Related to Human Cloning
The technology has many good and bad
impacts on human health so is case with the human cloning which has many advantages and disadvantages as well that why prohibited by most of the religious scholars. It may be accepted before the stage. Iran is of one of the first countries that had carried out the cloning process according to the values of Islam fortherapeutic purposes. They have used this technique for the organ transplantation by following the ethical values at each stage of the embryo by developing the stem cell culture. Conclusion
Cloning is banned due to many ethical and
moral values. Moreover, it faces many emotional reactions, psychological, and social issues as well. According to the Islamic point of view, the cloning of an embryo is a sin, and it is against nature due to the hazards that an embryo faces during a cloning process. However, Islam gives its permission to be applied only all the moral and ethical values are followed during the human embryo cloning for therapeutic and research purposes. Bibliography
https://www.google.com https://www.academia.edu Therapeutic Cloning Debate- by Eric A. Jensen