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Attack of the Very Real Clones

Italy cloning guru says babies on their way: “The Italian fertility expert whose avowed aim is to create the first human clone, said on Wednesday three women were pregnant with clones, but complained that the babies would be viewed as freaks by a hostile society.” [via MetaFilter]

I think that nature works as it does for a reason and that messing around with things like human cloning is just asking for trouble. What do you think?

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19 replies on “Attack of the Very Real Clones”

Lucas is right, Clones are just bad, bad news.

First we accept clones, then next we begin to harvest them for body parts (hey they are just our clones, not real people) a fight begins for Clone Rights and then all hell breaks loose!

i would love to see us clone organs for people that need them like heart and liver transplant patients. i would also love to see us “weeding out” potential diseases such as cancer right in the womb. however, to clone a person at this point in our race’s evolution is definitely asking for trouble.

we have *so* many other problems we can’t get rid of like war, homelessness, disease, bigotry, poverty, etc, etc, etc. haven’t we messed up this poor world enough as it is?

it’s inevitable that one day in the future we will create our offsrping in a manner that *we* see fit, hoewever doing that now has consequences that would surely doom us. *sigh*

I believe efforts have already been made towards cloning humans before this… I’m certain I heard about a case here in the UK where a child was born using the genetically modified DNA of an immediate relative (I think brother) with the purpose of helping said relative overcome some rare genetic disorder. It’s certainly good if the good effects are guaranteed, but the problem is, where do we say ‘stop’?

It’s much the same as at Cambridge University (my neck of the woods but not my uni), where it’s just been revealed that there’s been animal testing into Parkinsons and brain disorders that’s possibly gone way too far. We more than likely need the research to find out causes and possible cures for these disorders, but there’s no way in hell they’d use some of these methods on humans, so how far is too far?

Good question! I think this is a really complicated issue and one that’s always going to provoke a lot of debate. My own thought is that we’re really interfering with the balance of nature here. I do agree that cloning could offer some benefits with regard to scientific/medical advances … but the question is: at what cost? Frankly, I find the whole thing rather frightening.

Boy, this is a tough one for me. I have always felt that…disease and what have you exist for a reason. Survival of the fittest, I guess. It is life. We can’t all live forever. Then my dad was diagnosed with MS. I would give anything in this world to take it away. ANYTHING. It is so hard to watch this once strong man deteriorate (sp?)…It kills me.

So, yes, I would like to see parts cloned. I think stem cell research is a must. But to just go and clone somebody…NO WAY. That WILL fall into the wrong hands. Anyone say Hitler?

You know there has GOT to be some deranged shithead like that out there…it is just a matter of time…IMO…

Scares the shit out of me…

Yeah, shhhh… don’t tell the Pope, but I’m all for stem cell research. I have a Grandmother with Alzheimers. Relatives with Parkinsons. I’m sort of ok with seeing parts cloned, but even that’s a bit freaky. Is it going to come down to me wanting sparkling blue eyes with 20/20 vision so I have a new set implanted? On the other hand, bone marrow and organ transplants would be a lot more feasible.

But entire humans being cloned? Scary.

Well, I think cloning is a good thing and a bad thing. Like, if I had a clone and I needed a bone marrow transplant, and you know you need an exact match, you would have one.

But a bad thing is overcrowding, and I think it’s sort of scary if you have a clone that looks like you and thinks like you. I don’t think I could deal with a clone.

I think organ cloning makes sense, but cloning whole humans is basically a step backward. After all, the advent of sexual reproduction was a huge step forward evolutionarily because it allows new combinations of genetic material. When all the members of a population are genetically identical, and something comes along that can wipe out one of them, it can wipe out all of them. On the other hand, if every individual is different genetically, that’s a lot less likely to happen. And on a purely personal basis, given the choice between giving birth to a clone or a brand-new unique individual, I’d opt for the brand-new model. After all, the clone would actually be very different from the adult it was cloned from as far as personality and life experiences, so wacky people hoping to create an exact duplicate of themselves would be very disappointed.

We don’t even have the technology to create “exact replicas” of ourselves yet. The animal clones to date are not carbon copies of their original — the cats and goats have different colored coats with different fur patterns and everything. In that case, what’s the point? I’d rather have a child that looks like BOTH of us…

It’s all part of a ploy to over throw the governments of the world into chaos. But one man will bring balance… Hold a sec, I’m thinking about a movie ain’t I?

Either way, sooner or later, it’s not going to just bite us in the ass, but rather take a chunk out of it…

As someone with a strong family history of heart disease and diabetes and having a grandmother with Alheimer’s, I’m all for stem cell research and treatment. Whole human cloning is a bit scary still. The time hasn’t come yet for it.

well i think that we should only ust cloning for animals! not for humans! if the human clones co crazy and kill us all then i would be all our fault!! im only 13 and im already concerned about this topic!

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