Cloning is Okay
- Category: Science
- Posted On: 3/28/2006
- Views: 3,911
I've written about cloning before and have had difficulty making the decision if it is right or wrong. Well, for some reason today, I'm feeling that it's right...
Reproduction
The short conclusion is this:
According to the science of evolution, all life began through asexual reproduction, or the ability for an organism to replicate an exact copy of itself by splitting into another organism. This concept is amazing, but it came first! It's a survival mechanism that is fundamental to the success of life on Earth. Then, life developed sexual reproduction. We, like many other creatures on this planet, must have sex to reproduce. Well, we did...
Human Evolution
The human brain has evolved to create and understand more complex tools over the years. We can now fertilize ourselves and even animals without direct contact with the opposite sex. We've only begun to scratch the surface of bio-engineering new generations of life via cross-breeding and genetic manipulation. Here's the kicker... We have learned to asexually reproduce life through sexual reproduction!!! We've merged the 2 concepts, by copying the genetics and reproducing an exact, genetic copy! WOW!!!
The irony is that the very brains that have enabled us to advance these survival techniques have also developed the ethical awareness that inhibits our decisions to employ this new survival strategy. Think about it, we evolved to reproduce sexually. Now, we have evolved the capability to choose. I'm not certain what the implications are for cloning... moral, ethical, abusive use...
Asexual reproduction has one distinct advantage, which is also its biggest downfall. Making a perfect biological copy of a well-adapted, healthy organism ensures survival and further evolution in the same environment. If the environmental conditions change in any way, the adaptations may no longer be advantages and may, indeed, be disadvantages. For example, if a new virus develops, 15 exact copies of people may all die, but out of 15 unique individuals, some may live. That is the advantage of sexual reproduction... mixing the gene pool.
So, why can't humans use their smarts to work with both; not only for our survival, but to better harvest food? For people that drink milk or eat beef, we could clone cows that deal particalarly well with extremely dry climates to provide milk and food to remote, dry areas of the world, especially during drought. The possibilities are endless.
The only concern I really have with this argument is how people would abuse the power. In terms of physical survival, it's a good idea. In terms of our mental ability to control our own survival, well, ask the powers that be if they can all get along.
- Category: Science
- Posted On: 3/28/2006
- Views: 3,911