Read complete books and articles on: Cloning

Clone - group of organisms, all of which are descended from a single individual through asexual reproduction, as in a pure cell culture of bacteria. Except for changes in the hereditary material that come about by mutation, all members of a clone are genetically identical. Laboratory experiments in in vitro fertilization of human eggs led in 1993 to the "cloning" of human embryos by dividing such fertilized eggs at a very early stage of development, but this technique actually produces a twin rather than a clone. In a true mammalian clone the nucleus from a body cell of an animal is inserted into an egg, which then develops into an individual that is genetically identical to the original animal.

Later experiments in cloning resulted in the development of a sheep from a cell of an adult ewe (in Scotland, in 1996), and since then rodents, cattle, swine, and other animals have also been cloned from adult animals. Despite these trumpeted successes, producing cloned mammals is enormously difficult, with most attempts ending in failure; cloning succeeds 4% or less of the time in the species that have been successfully cloned. In addition, some studies have indicated that cloned animals are less healthy than normally reproduced animals.

In 2001 researchers in Massachusetts announced that they were trying to clone humans in an attempt to extract stem cells. The National Academy of Sciences, while supporting (2001) such so-called therapeutic or research cloning, has opposed (2002) the cloning of humans for reproductive purposes, deeming it unsafe, but many ethicists, religious and political leaders, and others have called for banning human cloning for any purpose. South Korean scientists announced in 2004 that they had cloned 30 human embryos; the cloning had been undertaken to produce stem cell lines, one of which was successfully extracted. The researchers were able to produce successful clones only when they used the nucleus from a cell that came from the woman who also provided the egg, and it is unclear whether any of the embryos would have been capable of properly developing into a human being.

See G. Kolata, Clone (1997).

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15 of the Best Books and Articles on: Cloning

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

On Cloning » Read Now
by John Harris. 187 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

Cloning - few words have as much potential to grip our imagination or grab the headlines. No longer the stuff of science fiction or Star Wars - it is happening now. Yet human cloning is currently banned throughout the world, and therapeutic cloning banned in many countries.In this highly...
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Cloning - few words have as much potential to grip our imagination or grab the headlines. No longer the stuff of science fiction or Star Wars - it is happening now. Yet human cloning is currently banned throughout the world, and therapeutic cloning banned in many countries.In this highly controversial book, John Harris does a lot more than ask why we are so afraid of cloning. He presents a deft and informed defence of human cloning, carefully exposing the rhetorical and highly dubious arguments against it. He begins with an introduction to what a human clone is, before tackling some of the most common and frequently bizarre criticisms of cloning: Is it really wicked? Can we regulate it? What about the welfare of cloned children? Does it turn human beings into commodities?Dismissing one by one some of the myths about human cloning, in particular that it is degrading and unsafe, he astutely argues that some of our most cherished values, such as the freedom to start a family and the freedom from state control, actually support the case for human cloning.Offering a brave and lucid insight into this ethical minefield, John Harris at last shows that far from ending the diversity of human life or creating a race of super-clones, cloning has the power to improve and heal human life.
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2.

The Cloning Sourcebook » Read Now
by Arlene Judith Klotzko. 352 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

A distinguished collection of papers by leading scientists and bioethicists on the science and social issues realted to large-animal cloning, the propspective medical benefits for development of pharmaceuticals in transgenic animals and of organs for xenotransplants, and the implications for thed so...
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A distinguished collection of papers by leading scientists and bioethicists on the science and social issues realted to large-animal cloning, the propspective medical benefits for development of pharmaceuticals in transgenic animals and of organs for xenotransplants, and the implications for thed so possibility of human cloning. Klotzko is among the best and most careful reporters on the development of large animal cloning, and a bioethicist with excellent connections to all themajor workers in the field. The book provides a more thorough and authoritative assessment and explanation of what has been done and what is in prospect than any of then other books that have reported on animal cloning. There isn new progress in the cloning of other large mammals, including monkeys, along with scientists who are trying to clone humans. These new developments and efforts will ensure that the subject remains in the public attention over the next couple of years.
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3.

The Naked Clone: How Cloning Bans Threaten Our Personal Rights » Read Now
by John Charles Kunich. 174 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
4.

The Ethics of Human Cloning » Read Now
by Leon R. Kass, James Q. Wilson. 101 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

This accessible volume promises to inform the public policy debate over the permissible conduct of genetic research and the permissible uses of its discoveries.
5.

The National Bioethics Advisory Commission: Contributing to Public Policy (Chap. Three "Response to the Cloning Human Beings Report" » Read Now
by Elisha Eiseman. 167 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

Details goverment, private, and international response to the policy recommendations of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission.
6.

The Case for Human Reproductive Cloning, in Canadian Speeches » Read Now
by Panayiotis Zavos. 7 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...The Case for Human Reproductive Cloning. The rationale of banning reproductive...fertilization 24 years ago. Banning reproductive cloning wont stop it, it is argued, but...
7.

International Response to Dolly: Will Scientific Freedom Get Sheared?, in Journal of Law and Health » Read Now
by Melissa K. Cantrell. 34 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Although successful nuclear transplantation ("cloning") was first reported in 1952, all of the...the mechanisms that are involved."(17) Cloning technology, in general...
8.

Cloning Red Herrings: Why Concerns about Human-Animal Experiments Are Overblown, in Policy Review » Read Now
by David Longtin, Duane C. Kraemer. 11 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Cloning red herrings: Why concerns about human-animal experiments are overblown. by David Longtin , Duane C. Kraemer IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH 2002, the U.S. Senate will...
9.

The New Healers: The Promise and Problems of Molecular Medicine in the Twenty-First Century (Chap. 5 "The Isolation, Cloning, and Transfer of Human Genes") » Read Now
by William R. Clark. 248 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

Human beings have on the order of 100,000 different genes encoding the molecules needed to build and operate the human body; defects in any one of them can lead to disastrous consequences. There are an estimated 4,000 genetic disorders, which can be every bit as devastating as the diseases caused by...
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Human beings have on the order of 100,000 different genes encoding the molecules needed to build and operate the human body; defects in any one of them can lead to disastrous consequences. There are an estimated 4,000 genetic disorders, which can be every bit as devastating as the diseases caused by bacteria or viruses, and in one way they are much worse: we pass them on to our children, generation after generation after generation. The New Healers is the story of the devastation these diseases cause, and the scientific researchers and doctors who struggle to combat them. Science and medicine have provided us with clues to the treatment of a few genetic diseases, although by their very nature they have never been considered curable. But, as William R. Clark shows, that is about to change through one of the most profound revolutions in modern medicine: gene therapy, a branch of the new field of molecular medicine. Clark takes us to the laboratories which have been able to isolate human genes, to make billions of copies of them, and to reintroduce healthy genes into unfortunate individuals who have inherited damaged or functionless genes. He also shows us how this same technology, turned around on itself, can also be used to deliberately introduce "bad" genes to attack and destroy unwanted cells, such as cancer cells or cells infected with the AIDS virus. Molecular medicine will be a major part of our lives in the new millennium. The New Healers outlines the powerful and compelling logic behind molecular medicine: everything we know about molecular biology tells us that it can work, and that it will work. Clark introduces us to the scientists working now to map out the entire human genome, easily the medical equivalent of going to the moon, taking human beings to a completely new level of understanding of our biological selves. Clark also helps us to begin thinking about how we will manage that understanding, and how we will use the information we gain. The New Healers is a clear and compelling introduction to this important new frontier of human medicine, outlining for readers all the basic elements of molecular biology necessary to understand molecular medicine, and illustrating the fascinating stories of those doctors and patients already a part of this exciting future -- a future as full of promise as anything we have witnessed in this past century of remarkable progress.
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10.

Attack of the Clones: As Cloning Technology Marches Forward, State Legislatures Are Faced with Some Hard Decisions, in State Legislatures » Read Now
by Alissa Johnson. 4 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Attack of the clones: as cloning technology marches forward, state legislatures...could spring from cloned humans? Cloning first hit the front page with the birth...makers...
11.

The Human Genome Project: Cracking the Genetic Code of Life (Chap. 6 "Send in the Clones") » Read Now
by Thomas F. Lee. 323 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT Cracking the Genetic Code of Life -ii- THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT Cracking the Genetic Code of Life Thomas F. Lee Plenum Press...
12.

Sacred Body? Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning, in The Ecumenical Review » Read Now
by Heinrich Bedford-Strohm. 11 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...Sacred body? Stem cell research and human cloning. by Heinrich Bedford-Strohm...embryonic stem cells for research and the cloning of human embryos. Human stem cell...
13.

Things That Count: Essays Moral and Theological (Chap. 7 "Cloning and Begetting") » Read Now
by Gilbert Meilaender. 393 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

Penned by a leading ethicist, this book is about "first things"--the bond of a man and a woman in marriage, sexuality, parents and children, politics and its limits, the place of suffering in our lives, friendship, God, and the beauties of everyday life.
14.

Cloning, Sex, and New Kinds of Families, in The Journal of Sex Research » Read Now
by Glenn McGee. 7 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

...Cloning, Sex, and New Kinds of Families. by Glenn McGee It goes without saying that human cloning does not involve, or need to involve, sexual intercourse. As one probes...
15.

Ethical Issues in Human Cloning: Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives » Read Now
by Michael C. Brannigan. 244 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

A refreshingly comprehensive & balanced overview of the complex arguments, for & against, human cloning. This timely anthology offers a range of expert opinion, from scientific, religious (western & non-western), philosophical & legal points of view on all the major ethical issues surrounding this...
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A refreshingly comprehensive & balanced overview of the complex arguments, for & against, human cloning. This timely anthology offers a range of expert opinion, from scientific, religious (western & non-western), philosophical & legal points of view on all the major ethical issues surrounding this controversial subject. Readable, concise & highly engaging, readers will acquire a broader & deeper understanding of both sides of the issues.
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