...Purposes of Gene Cloning To study genes in the laboratory, it is necessary to have many copies on hand to use as samples for different experiments. Such experiments include Southern or Northern blots, in which genes labeled with radioactive or fluorescent chemicals are used as probes for detecting specific genes that may be present in complex mixtures of DNA. Cloned genes also make it easier to study the proteins they encode. Because the genetic code of bacteria is identical to that of eukaryotes, a cloned animal or plant gene that has been introduced into a bacterium can often direct the bacterium to produce its protein product, which can then be purified and used for biochemical experimentation. Cloned genes can also be used for DNA sequencing, which is the determination of the precise order of all the base pairs in the gene. All of these applications require many copies of the DNA molecule that is being studied. Gene cloning also enables scientists to manipulate and study genes in isolation from the organism they came from. This allows researchers to conduct many experiments that would be impossible without cloned genes. For research on humans, this is clearly a major advantage, as direct experimentation on humans has many technical, financial, and ethical limitations. Importance for Medicine and Industry The ability to clone a gene is not only valuable for conducting biological research. Many important pharmaceutical drugs and industrial enzymes are produced from cloned...
Words: 5354 - Pages: 22
...readings involved stem cells, cloning of animals, the debate of human cloning, and gene therapy. Some terms that were new to me included: nascent, which basically means to be born; hubris which means full of pride; meliorist, which is a human’s effect on societal improvement; and the term despotism, meaning complete power or authority. In the reading on the President’s Council on Bioethics the council agreed that reproductive cloning was unacceptable. However it was not unanimous on therapeutic cloning. Majority of the council recommended a four year moratorium on research cloning and the remaining members recommended regulations of cloned embryos in research. A moral case for cloning for biomedical research is to provide possibilities of treating diseases. Research is limited to fourteen day old embryos that would be created to provide a good service for life and medicine. A moral case against cloning refers to embryos being treated as raw material solely to fulfill our own needs. There is also great concern of possibly causing harm to society by crossing reproduction margins and/or ruin to nascent human life. The four year moratorium hopes to provide some firm policies on cloning and allow time for a well researched and judicious decision to be attained. The central moral issue from the case of Dolly, the cloned sheep, is whether it is morally acceptable to clone for the purpose of advancing in medical solutions as opposed to cloning for the purpose of reproduction...
Words: 1008 - Pages: 5
...Stem Cell Cloning Research Braden Harrah Marshall University Abstract The term cloning of stem cell is used by scientists to describe many different processes that involve making duplicates of the different types of stem cells. In different types of cases, stem cells are duplicated for scientific study and no new results were found during the experiment of trying to clone stem cells. This led to the experiment that led to the cloning of Dolly the sheep in 1997. It used a cloning technique called that scientist have been trying to memorize and resulted in an animal that was a genetic twin. This technique can also be used to produce a stem cell from which cells called embryonic stem cells could be extracted to use in research into potential therapies for a wide variety of diseases. The diseases they are hopefully cure or give therapeutic help to is Parkinson’s and Alztimers disease. Introduction Stem cell cloning has been the overall climax for scientific research. Stem cell cloning has evolved ever since they found out what stem cells could do if they were cloned properly. Based on my research, the assumption that cloning stem cells can help mankind appear to be true. Throughout my research on cloning of stem cells I got the idea that if stem cells were cloned that they can cure common diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s. They need to practice on getting the cloning down right before even trying it on a human. They want to continue research on how to clone stems...
Words: 2706 - Pages: 11
...Animal Cloning and Experimentation | March 22 2011 | Is Cloning Animals Ethical? | Carli Mapes PHI 110 | A question that has plagued scientific and philosophical minds for many years is whether the experimentation and cloning of animals is ethical. This same question has caused more questions to arise again and again; such as, should we exploit animals for our own benefit? Do our rights override that of animals, and if they do, should we be allowed to decide the fate of these animals? Furthermore, what are we to do with these animals when we have cloned them or when we have finished our experimentations on their cells? Are these clones really animals, or are they just scientific facsimiles? Because there are no clear-cut answers to these questions, opposing opinions are argued, sides are taken, and even organizations are founded to address this issue. Many of the reasons for justifying the cloning of animals are wrong and benefit only the ones who have sought them in the first place; for example, some companies want to use the cloned animals for its own selfish, personal gain. W. R. Grace Company sought to have prized animals cloned and sold at high prices.1 Racehorses were an ideal animal to clone because of its superior breeding and intellect. The price of the racehorses’ sperm alone sells for a hefty sum so its clones would sell for even more. What these companies do not understand is that each clone is not exactly the same as the original animal. There is...
Words: 1742 - Pages: 7
...The Science and Ethics of Genetic Engineering Research & Position Paper Table of Contents DNA Fingerprinting/ Genetically Modified Foods --------------------------------------------------- p. 3 Gene Therapy/Cloning------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ p. 4 Stem Cell Technology------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ p. 5 Position Paper------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 6-7 Bibliography-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 8-10 Evaluation Rubric----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- p. 7 DNA Fingerprinting DNA fingerprinting are tests that help to identify and analyze a person’s DNA. The term “fingerprinting” is used because finger prints, like DNA, vary from person to person and no two people have the same DNA or fingerprints. So, when scientists identify a person’s DNA, it can only be linked back to one individual and can help to obtain information about that specific individual. DNA fingerprinting can be done through many different ways. Some ways are through blood samples from a vein or heel, saliva samples, skin samples, or hair samples. The purpose of DNA fingerprinting is to help link family members together, find things that cause diseases, to help aid in crime scene investigations, and to...
Words: 2310 - Pages: 10
...all of the advanced medical technology on this specific subject and the new findings that are constantly being done to prolong the human lifespan, we start to enter into the area of what is ethically right and wrong and wonder how much is too much? There are many different forms of medical treatment that can save someone’s life. This will vary from medicine to surgery and many things in between. Not everyone will agree on some of the techniques used, but most people understand why someone would want to save their life. Since people will try to save their own lives if they are dying, many scientists believe that there is no difference in trying to extend a life through medicine, or trying to create a life from another person through a cloning system. This is where the tables turn from helping mankind, to hurting what God has created for us. There are many conflicts between prolonging life and Christianity. Some people say that the world is entering into an area we do not belong, while others say we have already crossed that line. How Religion Is Impacted By Science Extending the Lifespan of a Human Introduction Currently, physicians have the know-how and advanced technology which...
Words: 3538 - Pages: 15
...techniques have been utilized widely in human cloning. Just as the name suggests, embryonic stem cells are cells derived from the embryos of human beings. The term cloning is used by scientists to describe the variety of processes used in making duplicates of biological materials. This paper will discuss the embryonic cells and pronucleus taking into accounts their application to human cloning. Caenorhadditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster will also be discussed together with application of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Embryonic stem cell has been applied in human cloning through human cloning for biomedical research whereby cloned cells are produced and used in individual patients suffering from diseases like Parkinson’s disease and type 1 diabetes (Fairbanks, 2004). This discovery has been used to develop embryos thus making important steps for medicine. Cloned embryos have been used widely as sources of stem cells, which have been developed to make new heart muscles, bone, brain tissues and other type of cells in the body. The stem cells have provided a breakthrough in medicine by creating new tissues that might be able to heal the damage caused by heart attack or repair severed spinal cord (Fairbanks, 2004). There are trials of utilizing stem cells from donated embryos to try and restore people’s eye sights. The donated cells are cloned to match the patient so that they would not be rejected by the body. With this kind of research various ethical and moral considerations...
Words: 1379 - Pages: 6
...Prof. Eric Bond EN 102 12/10/2012 LEGALIZATION OF HUMAN CLONING As years pass, more and more gadgets, machines, transportations, and foods are being improved because of the technological advancements. Even the life of humans is improved by the years, where the life expectancy is increasing because of the developed medical research, medicines, and medical equipment. However, developed biomedical methods such as cloning are controversial and in fact 93% of all Americans oppose cloning (Pynes). Cloning is a technique used by researchers and animal breeders to split a single embryo into two or more embryos that will have the exact same genetic information. Because of the controversies against this practice, the United States would not open the door to human cloning and this has led to a debate between the government, and scientists and bioethicists. Cloning is a very controversial topic since it relates to moral values of human beings. Human cloning has become a hot topic for debate as we progress one step closer to successfully cloning and developing a human being. Legislators and the general public have become more concerned about the medical, ethical, social and moral implications of this procedure. The risks involved in human cloning outweigh the benefits, for that reason, human cloning should not be legalized in the United States. Human cloning will cause serious medical issues. Technically, the human gene grows older with age. According to Gary Wickman, an author at...
Words: 2213 - Pages: 9
...Future Timothy T. Botts DeVry University: Online FALA10 Sec N Professor Jackie Sexson Stem cells are a difficult topic to breach without heated words arising on both sides of the debate. Research Legislation on stem cells has a long history, but in the United States, it is quite young. It seems with the change in the political powers of America comes a change in the views of stem cell research and its legislation. The NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 was signed into law by President Clinton. It was through this Act that in vitro fertilization (IVF) research was congressionally sanctioned without prior approval of the Ethics Advisory Board. President Clinton decided still to create a 19 member committee to oversee the ethical dimensions of this research. The committee was called the NIH Human Embryo Research Panel. This committee came back in September of 94’ and their decision was that government spending should be allotted and that human embryos could be specifically created for research. President Clinton decided not to take the panel’s suggestion and enacted an executive directive prohibiting federal funding on research to support the creation of human embryos used exclusively for research purposes. President Clinton mandated that federal funds can only be applied to research using human stem cells derived from frozen embryos that were created for purposes of infertility treatment and were in excess of clinical need or from fetal tissue. In 1996, the executive order...
Words: 1687 - Pages: 7
...advanced with the evolution of biotechnology. Animals models through genetic manipulation has greatly helped the development of scientific and biomedical knowledge. New ideas for treatment of genetic diseases and other diseases that benefit human and all living things The initial studies of George Mendel in 1865, researchers have contributed to the understanding and the consolidation of his idea which until then was only promising. (Chaible, 2010) During decades of studies important events took place such as discovery of relationship of DNA with the transmission of genetic traits, DNA cloning and sequencing, and allowing the production of the production of the first transgenic mice. (Chaible, 2010) The start of the 20th century, the appearance of the first genetic studies involving animal models. Mutant animals appeared in production colonies, differing from their parents and able to pass on this to their offspring. Rudolph Jaevisch published the first report of introduction of an exogenous DNA virus(SV40) into mouse embryos. (Chaible, 2010) Gordon and Ryddle reported the birth of a mouse that had been genetically modified through microinjection of purified DNA into single-cell mouse embryos. This methodology marked the birth of transgenesis and controlled genetic alteration in animal models. (Chaible, 2010) Some types of genetically modified animals are transgenic animals, knockout animals, knock-in animals, conditional knockout animals, and mice that host fragments of chromosomes...
Words: 509 - Pages: 3
...Lyndsey Kessler English 4A 24th Nov. 2014 Mrs. Nills Biomedical Technology: Today’s Experiments Tomorrow’s Medicine I am sure you have heard of mammograms and MRIs, but did you know that they are a part of biomedical technology? Biomedical technology is any medical imaging device or a medical practice that involves biology or technology. Some people do not believe in biomedical technology because they say it had not been proven safe or effective, but it has already saved lives. This is why biomedical technology should be used in medical practices My first reason is that biomedical technology could help save many lives. This technology has the potential to cure many diseases, one example is that scientists have found that stem cells can become a wide variety of specialized cells, this could help cure Alzheimer’s. They also have the potential to help people that are paralyzed. Biomedical technology has already found ways to detect and cure many life threatening diseases. With mammograms and MRIs doctors can detect breast cancer along with other diseases much faster than they have been able to in the past. This could potentially help cure those who are diagnosed. My second reason is that biomedical technology can increase treatment options. Since mammograms and MRIs help detect diseases sooner there are many different ways to treat these diseases some of which may not be as severe. For example instead of doing radiation for cancer right away you could undergo surgery to...
Words: 2247 - Pages: 9
...[sheep], sucked out the nucleus with its unique DNA, and then fused the ovum with a cell (with its own DNA) from the donor,” (Fr. William Saunders). From this technique, it created an ewe called Dolly, who was an exactly identical to the original donor. After she made headlines, people were curious and the question arises, “If this can be done with animals, why not with human beings?” (Fr. William Saunders). The Catholic Church believes human cloning is wrong because it is immoral and it undermines the dignity of a human being. By using human cloning it violates the fundamental principles of on which human rights are based on and it violates the principle upon...
Words: 1963 - Pages: 8
...Etymology[edit] The term Bioethics (Greek bios, life; ethos, behavior) was coined in 1926 by Fritz Jahr, who "anticipated many of the arguments and discussions now current in biological research involving animals" in an article about the "bioethical imperative," as he called it, regarding the scientific use of animals and plants.[1] In 1970, the American biochemist Van Rensselaer Potter also used the term with a broader meaning including solidarity towards the biosphere, thus generating a "global ethics," a discipline representing a link between biology, ecology, medicine and human values in order to attain the survival of both human beings and other animal species.[2][3] Purpose and scope[edit] The field of bioethics has addressed a broad swathe of human inquiry, ranging from debates over the boundaries of life (e.g. abortion, euthanasia), surrogacy, the allocation of scarce health care resources (e.g. organ donation, health care rationing) to the right to refuse medical care for religious or cultural reasons. Bioethicists often disagree among themselves over the precise limits of their discipline, debating whether the field should concern itself with the ethical evaluation of all questions involving biology and medicine, or only a subset of these questions.[4] Some bioethicists would narrow ethical evaluation only to the morality of medical treatments or technological innovations, and the timing of medical treatment of humans. Others would broaden the scope of ethical evaluation...
Words: 967 - Pages: 4
...fields of bioengineering and biomedical engineering. For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production and medicine.[2] The term itself is largely believed to have been coined in 1919 by Hungarian engineer Karl Ereky. In the late 20th and early 21st century, biotechnology has expanded to include new and diverse sciences such as genomics, recombinant gene technologies, applied immunology, and development of pharmaceutical therapies and diagnostic tests.[3] Definitions of biotechnology The concept of 'biotech' or 'biotechnology' encompasses a wide range of procedures (and history) for modifying living organisms according to human purposes — going back to domestication of animals, cultivation of plants, and "improvements" to these through breeding programs that employ artificial selection and hybridization. Modern usage also includes genetic engineering as well as cell and tissue culture technologies. Biotechnology is defined by the American Chemical Society as the application of biological organisms, systems, or processes by various industries to learning about the science of life and the improvement of the value of materials and organisms such as pharmaceuticals, crops, and livestock.[4] In other words, biotechnology can be defined as the mere application of technical advances in life science to develop commercial products. Biotechnology also writes on the pure biological sciences (genetics, microbiology, animal cell...
Words: 6516 - Pages: 27
...Stem cell research has become one of the most controversial topics next to abortion. Scientist, Researchers, and some medical professionals feel we are loosing precious time with the political, legal and ethical aspect of this topic and should focus more on how modern medicine can be improved and where stem cell research could take us in the future. Stem cell history began in the 1800’s both human and animal stem cells were used. Scientist fertilize egg cells through the vitro process, this was the most successful way to cause reproduction in a human egg, but with more advance research and tools the possibilities could be endless. Stem cell are classified into three categories; Totipotent, which are found in early embryos, pluripotent exist in the inner cell mass and can from over 200 cell types in the human body, and multipotent that are derived from fetal tissue, cord blood and adult stem cells. Multipotent stem cells are more commonly used in cell-based therapies because they have the best success rate. In the 1900’s the first application of stem cell research was bone marrow transplants using adult stem cells. Bone marrow was given to patients orally that had anemia and leukemia, this was proven to be ineffective way to administer and treat the illness. Treatment was only proven to be successful when given through the blood stream from a compatible donor. In 1984 Congress passed the National Organ Transplant Act this led to an increase of people in the bone marrow...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
