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DARLING, I ‘VE CLONED THE KIDS!

What is cloning and what is genetic engineering? Some background
for future discussions.

Cloning and genetic engineering are very controversial topics,
but hey, that’s no reason not to talk about it. Some years ago,
scientists in the U.K. were successful in cloning a sheep, Dolly
as most of you know, but some days ago something really weird
happened, scientists successfully cloned a human embryo. With
this “success” they started the whole discussion about the
artificial production and alteration of humans again. The
churches started to threaten to expel these pariahs of modern
society, governments started to discuss the present cloning laws
again and only scientists agree that it was simply a matter of
time until somebody would try to clone a human embryo.

A lot of difficult words for somebody who is just learning a new
language, eh? So what about this cloning, everybody has heard
about it but nobody really knows what it is.
The answer is quite simple since it is “nothing” more than
making a copy of a living thing. To start the whole process, you
have to take a cell of something: a strand of hair or a drop of
blood would be enough. The scientists need it to determine the
exact genetic code of the living thing you want to clone. By
making some mysterious things with the cells in their labs, the
scientists started the planned process of copying a living
being. The cells start to divide and divide and get bigger and
bigger. And when it is finished, the scientists are happy
because they have manipulated nature once again.
And WHAM, the whole discussion would start, questions would need
to be answered and every moralist on this planet would write
your name on their blacklist. (Watch your back!!!)

What would happen to the clones? Would they be slaves to their
original counterparts? Would they have the same rights as we,
natural born, have? Wasn’t there any discussion about
overpopulation? What about religions? Would the scientists be
gods because they created a living being? Would it be affordable
for everybody to have some spare parts? Can we kill a clone
because we need the heart or anything else important?

Hey, there are so many questions to be answered that it will
take the next few decades to discuss them. Right now, it seems
that scientists are like little kids playing in a sandbox,
discovering new games as they go along.

BUT, what is the difference between growing an embryo in a womb
and growing it in a small glass in a lab?

In addition to cloning there is something else, which is
discussed in the media and for sure in most classrooms. What
about genetic engineering, the little brother of cloning? Unlike
cloning, genetic engineering is already in use in business. This
is the alteration of plants to make them more resistant to
different weather conditions or plagues. In many third world
countries, especially in Africa, starvation is an enormous
problem causing millions of deaths. For these countries, it is
nearly impossible to have a working agricultural system since
their desert like environment allows no common agricultural
plants to grow.
Genetically enhanced plants could survive with less water and
would allow the people to live without food support from the
United Nations. Wouldn’t it be great to see people in Somalia
working in their fields instead of waiting in front of a UN
truck to get some food to survive through the day only to starve
in the next one?

But if everything is that good, why are so many people against
genetically engineered plants, especially corn? Why are
organisations like Greenpeace fighting for laws to forbid the
genetic alteration of plants?

A simple answer: We do not know what else could happen by
changing these plants. We do not know anything about the effects
and especially the long-term effects if these genetically
altered plants are eaten. It is not sure if our bodies can deal
with this new food. Scientists are not sure or do not know
anything about the effects on other plants and the nature
surrounding these enhanced plants.
Pandora’s Box could be opened because we do not know anything
about the effects of altering the genome of plants. Science is
not sure about the long-term effects and it is like playing with
fire: everything could be all right or the whole house could burn down.

Nuclear energy was celebrated as the best energy source for our
society with no mention of the long-term effects of the nuclear
waste or the possibilities of an accident. Now, decades after
the introduction of this form of energy we face problems, which
cannot be solved.

Should we really forbid the research of cloning and genetic
engineering or should we allow scientists to learn more about
it? It is easy to forbid something that is frightening but is
very difficult to learn to deal with something frightening. It
could be a chance for mankind but it could also be our doom.

[These viewpoints do not necessarily reflect the beliefs of the
Newspaper Club, we remain objective and impartial ]

Manfred Meindl