Advantages of Cloning

Despite the apprehensions, cloning actually offers a number of benefits to people. Among the advantages offered by cloning are the following:

* Cloned animals such as cattle, hogs and chickens can be bred to provide more milk and eggs than animals that are naturally reproduced. Researchers, at the same time, can enhance the nutritional value of food and lower cholesterol in eggs and meat by applying the same method (BeverageDaily.com, Screen 2).

* Cloning could produce an organ to save life of a person in need of organ transplant. It could also help in producing bone marrow that save a person afflicted with leukemia (Ato-del-Avellanal, Screen 1).

* Cloning also helps in the spreading of animals in danger of extinction, helping in maintaining ecological balance of nature (Ato-del-Avellanal, Screen 2)

* Cloning could enable a sterile woman to have a child derived from her own body, by using any cell from her organism (Ato-del-Avellanal, Screen 4)

* The techniques of cloning or the duplication of cells and genes are vital to the efforts in acquiring advanced medicines that are for diagnosis and vaccines, for treating heart diseases, to cure several kinds of cancer, kidney ailments, diabetes, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, etc. More than a 100 million patients have benefited up to these benefits now and on-going researches are made and developed on these techniques for the more than 20 years. The techniques will help in producing skin, cartilages, and bones to save the victims of burns and accidents, and also to produce cells to cure cancer, or repair the retina, or the spinal column(Ato-del-Avellanal, Screen 5) .

* Human gene cloning is responsible for some breakthroughs for cancer treatment. In a report made by US News, it was revealed that two teams simultaneously reported in Cell and Science magazine that they cloned a gene that starts the cell on the path to basal cell carcinoma--a common skin cancer. Although mutations in the PTC gene are usually caused by the sun some are caused by inherited traits. This newest development could soon lead us to a cream that will deliver normal PTC to those cells with damaged copies. Other creams being developed could produce a true tan with out the sun. This could protect skin from the sun with out damaging it in the process (Michigan State University, Screen 1).

* Transgenics contains the area of bioscience where animals' genetic code is manipulated to include human proteins. A good example of this is cows that can produce human proteins and medicines in their milk, human alpha-lactalbumin. This protein contains nearly every amino acid needed by newborns could be mass manufactured to aid premature infants that are not able to nurse. Transgenic pigs are another example. These pertain to areas of research where pigs are engineered with hearts genetically similar to those of humans. These organs stand less chance of being rejected and could greatly help those who need such organ transplants. Still other animals can be engineered to produce tissue glue for use in surgery and medicines for csytic fibrosis (Michigan State University, Screen 2).

* The cloning of transgenetic animals, that is animals with modifications brought about by human genes, so as to use their cloned organs in transplants in human beings could avoid rejection of organs. Once a prototype of this kind is secured, mass reproduction by cloning is easier. But now it is possible to no longer go through the more complicated unpredictable situations brought about by sexual reproduction. The British company IMUTRAN at present mass-produces hogs that have been genetically manipulated and that will provide organs that can be transplanted to human beings (Ato-del-Avellanal, Screen 3).

According to surveys, 6% of North Americans wants research about cloning, and more than 80% are against this study. The production of medicines, transplants, and other medical benefits, would ultimately involve the cloning of human beings. Alex Kahn, the French molecular genetist, admits that at present majority are against cloning (Ato-del-Avellanal, Screen 5) .