The Perfect Human

The cloning controversy as a whole raises many political, social and philosophical questions about where the potential of human cloning might take us. For instance, will gene modification always be associated with the risk of unpredictable genetic side effects? Everything I’ve been exposed to thus far over the past couple months has me agreeing that it is our procreative liberty to preserve our own institutions and freedoms. However, with certain freedoms there are dangers because of the unknown possibilities. The possibilities only have one way to unfold, by trial and error, whether we fear the outcomes or not.

So, then, a question arises about the nature vs. nurture debate: Do our offspring carry the genes that predict disposition, is it their “nature,” or are our offspring shaped by their environment as some would call the “nurture” side of the debate. Human perfection couldn’t be achieved nor would we want to alter our biology because once we start down the path of human biological manipulation, we will be unable to turn back.

All Things Considered

A news piece on NPR last week was the inspiration for this line of inquiry into human cloning. Is human cloning just around the corner? On NPR Thursday, February 22nd , Joe Palca remembers when just 10 years ago that scientists cloned a sheep named Dolly. She was the world’s first cloned mammal. Since then, scientists around the world are now focused on making embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos. But it seems that smaller steps must first be taken by cloning other species in order to better understand basic biology such as how a fertilized egg even begins to divide and grow. Moreover, what are the potential problems of cloning embryos and its ethical considerations? Mr. Palca offers a Q&A on what scientists have learned since cloning Dolly 10 years ago and what roadblocks scientists are faced with.