...Zaccaria Introduction to Ethics April 27, 2015 Outline THESIS: Is the use of stem cells favorable for healing and or curing human diseases more favorable for healing and or curing diseases more significant than the ethical concerns and arguments? I. What are stem cells? A) An unspecialized cell that can generate to one or more different types of specialized cells regenerated as blood or nerve cells. B) Stem cells are present in embryos and in tissues of adult organisms. II. How are stem cells used? A) Scientific Research B) Potential disease and treatment and or cures C) In vitro fertilization D) Cloning and Genetic Engineering III. Ethical concerns regarding stems cells. A) Scientific research perspective B) Political/Moral Ethics perspective C) Religious/Utilitarianism perspective IV. Conclusion | Stem Cells Risk or Benefit Since the introduction of DNA, scientists have researched many ways to treat and extinguish disease. One interesting way is through the use of stem cells. To get better understanding of stem cells, they are defined as non-specific biological cells capable of differentiating into specialized cells. Stems cells have a unique quality of developing and duplicating cells through the process of cell division. The distinctiveness of stem cells is that they are unspecialized, meaning no specific function, making them capable...
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...SOMATIC CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER Name: Institutional affiliation: Date: Introduction Somatic cell nuclear transfer utilizes an egg cell and a body cell to create a viable embryo. As part of the studies of genetics and developmental biotechnology, somatic cell nuclear transfer is commonly known as cloning and has elicited a lot of debate and criticism from fundamentalists and bioethicists who feel it is a breech of ethical boundaries. Also called cloning, this process traces its development back to the mid and late 1800’s when scientists discovered that cell twining was possible. By separating embryonic cells, these scientists created twins with the same characteristics teaching them about genetic material and DNA. McLaren & Council of Europe report “it was not until the mid1950’s that scientists manipulated these cells to form new organisms as frogs became the first subjects of embryonic cloning” (pg. 35). By the mid-1990’s, technical knowhow had improved, and cloning moved up the animal chain to more complex vertebrates such as farm animals. 1996 saw the first instance of a cloning process that had utilized an adult body cell. Dolly, a lamb, received a lot of public attention, but that fizzled out with the realization that human cloning was imminent...
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...BIO/240 May 6, 2013 DNA Technology INTRO – LEE DNA Technology: Cloning, Gene Therapy, and Stem Cell Research DNA technology encompasses a wide variety of applications and because of the duplicating nature of DNA, it is easy to see how humans could benefit from its manipulation. One such technology is cloning. Cloning technology comes in three forms: recombinant DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. Cloning Recombinant DNA cloning consists of transferring DNA fragments from an organism to a self-replicating element, like a bacterial plasmid. The fragments join with the cloning vector and are reproduced with the host cell. This technology is most commonly known for its use in genetically modified foods. DNA fragments that code for better tasting, higher nutrient qualities are spliced into regular plants to produce super foods (US Dept of Energy Genome Program, 2009). Reproductive cloning takes all the genetic information out of a cell and replaces it with DNA from the desired organism. With luck, this cell will begin to divide until it becomes an embryo and can be implanted into a host mother (US Dept of Energy Genome Program, 2009). Gene Therapy and Stem Cell Research Therapeutic cloning is by far the most controversial. This type of cloning produces human embryos for use in research, and usually for the stem cells that can be harvested from these embryos. Stem cells can be used to clone organs and body parts from the patient’s own DNA...
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...Using Human Cloning for Medical Research The subject of human cloning has many different points of view. The utilization of human cloning for the sake of medical research is a path that we, as guardians of the future, should stand up against in an effort to preserve the human race as we know it today. The topic of cloning has many different terminologies as well as types. What is cloning? Cloning is not limited just to humans but is actually all around us. It exists in nature, animals and humans. Cloning is defined as the creation of a genetically identical copy of an existing human or growing cloned tissue from that individual. This term is generally used to refer to artificial cloning; human clones in the form of identical twins are commonplace, with their cloning occurring during the natural process of reproduction. “Human cloning is the asexual production of a human being whose genetic makeup is nearly identical to that of a currently or previously existing individual” (Chesire et al., 2003, p. 1010). To be successful with cloning, scientists utilize and create “generic” cells that that have the ability to make exact duplicates or copies of themselves indefinitely. This process is known as “stem cell research.” Stem cells are a key element of the different types of cloning and will impact advances in helping to cure many different types of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, spinal cord injury, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and cancer. Before...
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...English 5A 12 December 2012 Human Therapeutic Cloning Should Be Permitted Human therapeutic cloning has the ability to greatly improve the quality of life. Cloning could be the answer to the end of your pain and suffering, but before you can understand it’s benefits, you have to know the process therapeutic cloning itself. Therapeutic cloning is a procedure in which cells, typically skin cells, are taken from a patient and inserted into a fertilized egg whose nucleus has been removed. Scientists then extract stem cells from the egg, and use those cells to grow tissue that are a perfect genetic match to the patient. It is a break-through in science and the key to curing many diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Elizabeth Foley explains why human cloning should not be banned due to, “the primary objections to human cloning appear to be unfounded, based more on morality, theology, and fear than objective data.” The potential medical benefits of genetic engineering are far too great to let moral concerns about embryonic cell use get in the way of curing diseases. Human therapeutic cloning should not be banned from society because countless lives can be saved through transplantations and genetic research. Therapeutic cloning is the cloning of human tissues for research and transplant, and shows much promise in organ transplantation. Much needed organs grown from stem cells from the patient’s own genetic material could help solve the severe shortage issue...
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...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...
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...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...
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... Therapeutic cloning has the potential to treat several degenerative diseases, thereby defective genes could be replaced and help improve the lives of millions. However, cloning in the human sense has had a difficult start. DNA cloning has permitted the development of modern biology, in particular within the last forty years. In this time frame the world has passed from theories to actually cloning genes. Subsequently, The University of Utah Health Sciences did a study on the history of cloning: Mitalipov and colleagues were the first to use somatic cell nuclear transfer to create a human embryo. …In this experiment, researchers took a skin cell from a patient and fused it with a donated egg cell. Key to the success of the experiment was the modification to the culture liquid in which the procedure was done and to the series of electrical pulses used to stimulate the egg to begin its division. Following the cloning controversy of 2004–2005, in which South Korean scientists falsely claimed to have used somatic cell nuclear transfer to create embryonic stem cell lines, the scientific community demanded much stronger evidence that the procedure had actually been successful. (Learn. Genetics) Subsequently, many states in the US began to prohibit the use of therapeutic and reproductive cloning. Regardless, cloning should be decriminalized, with the stipulation that serious regulations be put into place. People, often too caught in the moral implications of cloning never take the...
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...Ethics of Cloning The Ethics of Cloning Team D: Casey Krueger, Erin Lee, Ferdinand Malarayap, Marvin Monge, and Ibrahim Mortada August 14, 2011 DeVry University Online Stem cell research and cloning have become a major topic of interest in countries all around the world ever since Dolly the sheep was successfully cloned in 1997. Every single country has their own views about stem cell research and cloning because of their moral and ethical issues. Muslims, for example, are individuals who are firm believers that knowledge is acquired in a form of worship, and any human achievement must be performed in conformity with God’s will. The introduction of new science in Islam is not perceived with open arms and new technology has to prove benefits before it is accepted because of the fear and respect the Muslim culture has for their God. Any new knowledge or discovery must be implemented within the confines of God’s laws and limits to maintain a healthy balance in the creation. Science and religion have to work together in the Muslim culture to determine if new knowledge or research such as stem cell and cloning are linked to the broad ethical base set forth in the Qur’an and the Sunnah. Cloning began from the very earliest if civilization. Historians and scientist believe that early farmers took the strongest of their crop, self-pollinated them with same plant, extracted the seeds, and planted them to create a field of genetically identical plants. This type of cloning is more...
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...The Next Generation of Cloning Hundreds of countries around the world are scrambling to ban human cloning, but scientists are convinced cloning can be useful in the near future. Cloning is making a replica of an organism or a cell, a copy of a human or mammal and making two or more of them. There have been a majority of people that have appealed to cloning and whether human beings should not be cloned nor should cloning be used. There has been many reasons for whether cloning should be allowed or not allowed. The heated debate over human cloning has changed how society views human life. This issue is dividing American society. Many argue that cloning is risky, unsafe, and can be harmful to mankind. Others contend cloning to be beneficial and...
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...30 years there has been debate over Stem Cell Research. In November of 1998 when researchers first reported the isolation of human embryonic stem cells. The discovery, made by Dr. James A. Thomson, a biologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, offered great promise for new ways of treating disease. With this great discovery much debate came over stem cell research. Even though Dr. Thomson research was extraordinary this topic has been in debate for over thirty-years. During this time the legislation had been revised to in compass new advancement in the research along with protect the public interest. The question that is continually being evaluated is the use of stem cell ethical. In 1973, Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade rules that decisions about abortion are private, between a woman and her doctor. Some States may not forbid abortion in first two trimesters. This decision sparks a large, politically active anti-abortion movement that opposes research on embryos. Members of Congress become concerned about research exploitation of embryos and fetuses that will be aborted. (Wertz, 2002) In 1974,Congress applies its own temporary moratorium on federally funded clinical research on embryos and embryonic tissue, including research on IVF, infertility, and prenatal diagnosis, until national guidelines can be established. A de facto moratorium continues until the present. Basic, non-therapeutic, research using embryonic cells continues, out of public view. Congress...
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...Frankenstein, Victor attempts to regenerate a human back to life by using science; however, his ill-planned idea came back to haunt him for eternity. We find ourselves on the precipice of a scientific breakthrough. Mankind is now using genetic engineering, stem cell research and even cloning to play God in today’s society. Genetic engineering refers to the...
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...The Human Cloning Debate its Benefits Potential and Controversies Charles J. Butler Devry University ENG 135 Professor Norton Abstract This paper explores the vast science and medical research that has gone into cloning, specifically human cloning. It focuses mainly on internet websites and articles posted on to the internet. The articles focus mainly on the history of cloning and the various ways that nature has used cloning and how mankind has extended natures approach and ultimately advanced cloning methods and the new technology that has been discovered because of these advances. The articles contain proof that further advancements in cloning can develop possibilities in preventing and curing diseases. There is discussion on how continued research into therapeutic cloning can expand the knowledge of how certain diseases and cancer attack the body, and how this knowledge can help fight and even eliminate both these issues. Another topic of discussion is how cloning could lead specific cell production of various organs and tissues through-out the body which can lead to curing failing organs and even the possibility of growing replacements organs thus doing away with then need for lengthy organ transplant lists and the needless suffering of thousands of patients a year. The paper contains the various ethical and controversial arguments that human cloning bring up. Keywords: Therapeutic cloning, The Human Cloning Debate its Benefits Potential and Controversies ...
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...Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Its Pros and Cons Because of its concept, embryonic stem cell research has become a hot topic in debates among scientific researchers, moral activists, religious groups and governments. It is a relatively a new science that holds medical treatments for many debilitating diseases and disorders affecting people today. But like other new scientific technologies, it is also believed to potentially do harm. To get a good insight about this type of research, let us take a look at some of its pros and cons. List of Pros of Embryonic Stem Cell Research 1. It can help treat many diseases. As scientists direct the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into specific cell types, they will be able to use the resulting differentiated cells to treat certain diseases, which include diabetes, traumatic spinal cord injury, Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy, heart diseases, and vision and hearing loss. It is also claimed to have the potential...
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...Business Research Ethics RES/351 August 12, 2013 Stem Cell and Human Cloning Research and Ethics Questions about ethics in research have increased and unethical issues rise from different fields such as Medicine and Science. When the discussion about stem cell and human cloning researches rise for the meaning, “what is life?” the question is simple, but the answer is still unclear. This paper is an overview of the articles about stem cell and human cloning researches that discuss business research ethics and involves ethical and unethical issues. A stem cell is a type of cell found into the body of all human beings, has the capability to reproduce them, and to produce other types of cells such as brain cells, muscle cells, and others. In the New York Times’ article is very clear that the ongoing battle to make this research valid is relentless. This research can be the potential that holds for the future generation and scientists affirms; “stem cells may be used to replace or repair damaged cells, and have the potential to drastically change the treatment of conditions like cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and even paralysis.” (Harris, 2012) However, opponents of embryonic stem cell want the research to be restricted or prohibited entire as inhumane because most researches are done by creating embryonic stem cell from fertilized cells. When the approach is human cloning there is no difference, opponents to the research claim that it is immoral and unethical...
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