Introduction

As technology keeps advancing each year we are left with nothing else but to learn how to use it. In 1997 history was made when Dolly - the first cloned sheep - was born. Questions arose about whether or not it was possible to clone humans. Nobody knows for certain how far cloning can go but nobody can stop technology from becoming advancing. Even as I grow old, expertise in certain fields of science will be far more then what the average person can handle. It is important to remember anything new can be frightening at first, but the truth will not be known until we can research first.

Therefore, we must first know what cloning is really about. As thought by most people, cloning is the act of producing a twin out of some human or animal. According to Collier¡¯s Dictionary, cloning is a technique of producing a genetically identical duplicate of an organism. To scientists there is far more to cloning then that. First, a clone is an exact copy made of biological material such as a DNA segment, a whole cell, or a complete organism. Cloning is using specialized DNA technology to produce multiple, exact copies of a single gene or other segment of DNA to obtain material for further study. Although scientists have been looking for ways to clone for the past 45 years it has never been as openly as it is right now. Five years ago most people would not have even known that such research was being done. If the word ¡°cloning¡± were to be mentioned now most people have a sense of what it is or what it could be.

Living in the age of technology, I decided to do research on a topic that would affect me in the future in some way, shape, or manner. Ever since the birth of Dolly the sheep I was intrigued by the possibilities of cloning humans. I knew that at the rate that technology is moving I would have to make a choice about it sooner or later. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity I decided to investigate into what will be my future.

Other related topics are bioethics, gene therapy and somatic cell nuclear transfer.

As I started doing research on the human cloning I discovered that it took Dolly two hundred and seventy seven tries to be created. Though discouraged by this fact I persistent and found out that research into human cloning could lead to cure or prevent diseases such as cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, Down¡¯s syndrome, and various forms of cancer. Also, it would give infertile parents the chance to have a baby that would actually look like one of the parents. Reasons to advance research into human cloning seemed endless as well as those who opposed it.

When the assignment was first given I slacked in doing research. I thought I had enough time and that it would not take very long. Time went by and I realized that I had not yet begun. As I started my research I visited the CSUN library and found that most of the books on cloning had already been checked out. My best resource was now the internet. There I found hundreds of sites in favor and against human cloning. I was able to establish a stand and continue to search for more facts that would help me. It was when my folder got too heavy to carry that I knew I had enough information. As suggested, I took notes on index cards and categorized all my thoughts; everything I needed was in the right place. Everything else should now be easy, or so I thought.

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