Human Cloning

Human cloning research papers can approach the ethical problems involved with cloning a human being or can overview the scientific process of cloning. Either way, the writers at Paper Masters will custom write your research on any aspect of human cloning you need studied.

In relation to genetic engineering, there is the question of human cloning. To whom would a cloned human belong, is a question posed in many human cloning term papers, when referring to a cloned child. If our courts are awarding custody of adopted children to their birth parents, with which the children share similar DNA, would that extend to clones? Is life created in any way other than the natural manner still life? We know that the beginnings of life can occur independent of the womb, but they can't without the basic materials of a sperm and egg.

In the end, what we must decide is just how badly do we want the cure to disease, to unlock the secrets of a prolonged life, or to give our children the chance to live out a life free of disease or disability. To the extent that life is, and seemingly will continue to be, dependent upon human genetic contributions and of human genetic material, it is safe to assume that humanity will remain intact, even in the face of large-scale cloning. Therefore, we are not facing the loss of humanity, but a fundamental shift in our standards of operation. If we understand that what we are, our minds, our souls, our Self, is a mental or metaphysical construct, we can also understand that it is only with a healthy body can our existence be furthered.Some have postulated that the maximum age for humanity is 128, if that is true, then why aren't we all living to that age? It's because our bodies give out long before we reach that point.Some questions to consider are:

• What if we were to be able to regenerate our own tissues with clones of ourselves?
• What if we were able to allow those elements of us that cannot be seen or engineered to remain sacred and alive?
• What if cloning can hold is a world free of disease, full of permanently healthy human beings who are thereby free to pursue virtually any avenue of life and learning?

Our very humanity is what is being preserved through cloning, it is being refined, cleared of its imperfections, and given the chance to evolve to a new stage of development.

Human cloning is a process that takes place on several levels and with the application of a variety of techniques. Some cloning methods and techniques have the creation of a complete person as their ultimate goal, while others are interested only in creating or copying tissues for therapeutic purposes.

On its most simple level, cloning can be used for the creation of tissues. The cloning of tissue results not in the creation of a person, but rather specialized tissues that are harvested from pre-existing human tissue. For example, bone or skin might be cloned for therapeutic use in a person who has been injured.

The next level of cloning is that of organ cloning, which is more elaborate than tissue cloning but still does not result in the creation of a human. In this process, specialized stem cells are used to create an organ, which may potentially be used in a transplant or other situation.

Finally, human cloning, at its ultimate stage, produces a human embryo through a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer, the result of which is the copy of another human being's genetic material (Cui 17). This is possibly the most controversial level of cloning, although cloning in all of its forms have been the topic of debate since technology first allowed the process to be performed.

For each of the three levels of cloning, there are several methods by which to achieve the intended result or results. First of all, two methods of tissue cloning are currently described and practiced.

1. The first type involves the transfer of genetic material so that a tissue clone is derived from a transferred cell and egg yolk of one woman.
2. The second type involves procurement of the transferred cell and yolk from two different individuals.

Likewise, two types of organ cloning methods are identified in current scientific literature.

1. The first type involves the cultivation of stem cells, and extends beyond tissue cloning.
2. The second type involves organ material from a human clone, which is either transferred for development into the uterus for in vivo growth, or placed in a specific medium to develop in vitro.

Human cloning is performed primarily through the process of somatic cell nuclear transfer, the same method used in cloning the infamous sheep, Dolly. This complicated technique involves the removal of the nucleus of an adult animal cell and its transfer to an egg cell in which the nucleus has been removed. Then, the newly enucleated egg is provided with stimulation in order to cause division and the formation of an embryo; this embryo is transplanted into a female animal and eventually develops into a cloned offspring.

Further designations are identified within the cloning practice. "Therapeutic cloning" is considered as distinct and unique from "reproductive cloning," in that its aim is not in the creation of a human being but rather the creation of cells. The two are closely related in method, and therefore are the subject of great debate. Although the aims are distinct, there are still many reasons for moral and ethical dilemmas that surround their techniques. However, the processes begin in an identical way, regardless of whatever the ultimately intended result may be.