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Cloning

Notoriously Unknown

Quick, somebody come up with a witty response!
Yes, I know cloning humans can't happen at this point in our technological acheivements, but someday it could happen. If so than what are the morality issues with it. Say a person dies and is cloned. Is it really that person? Would a clone be conciouse of the fact that it was just a copy? Is it moraly sound to have a person exactly like you, down to DNA, on the planet? And don't even get me started on the religeose aspects either.
What do you guys think of cloning? Should it be done on humans someday?
 
No.

Body parts, yes. Cloning tech would help with heart transplants or augmenting limbs.
 
Twins have the exact same DNA? Wow, you learn something new everyday..
Anyways, sure twins... But what about the fact that a clone is created, but not really born. At least not in the conventional sense anyways...

Is a clone truly alive? Would they have a consience? Should they?
 
Life means something created with an organic system in this case, so yes.

Also, twins don't have the exact same DNA. Fingerprints, for example. They have the same sets but mixed. Let's say Twin A has the DNA combination +-+--+. Twin B may have -++-+-. The same genes, just scrambled.

If clones are made via the same way as sheep were cloned, then it WOULD have a conscience seeing as it was born. Flash-cloning(the sci-fi stuff) also gives the product a conscience seeing as the original already has one embedded into its brain and every single atom will be cloned during the flash-cloning process.
 
I see. Well lets look at it from both ways to clone. The relistic way that we can accomplish now does involve conventional birth, as in it grows in a mothers womb and exits at some point. Still that does't erase the fact that it's still a copy of a (possibly) living human being. would it be told at some point that it is a clone or would that just cause chaos and ruin to it? Would the aging prosses be messed up at all?
Flash cloning we can't do yet, and probobly not be able to do for a loooong time. If a person is flash cloned would it belive itself to be the original? If every atom is cloned into this person would they retain memorys of things that the original person has experienced?

Fuck me if I'm wrong, but didn't they clone a little girl?
Whoa, what? Is she alve? Is she real? Tell everything you know, this is fastinating.
 
Yes, I know cloning humans can't happen at this point in our technological acheivements, but someday it could happen. If so than what are the morality issues with it. Say a person dies and is cloned. Is it really that person? Would a clone be conciouse of the fact that it was just a copy? Is it moraly sound to have a person exactly like you, down to DNA, on the planet? And don't even get me started on the religeose aspects either.
What do you guys think of cloning? Should it be done on humans someday?
Umm, agreeing with the identical twins thing pointed out by Dannichu.

Twins have the exact same DNA? Wow, you learn something new everyday..
Anyways, sure twins... But what about the fact that a clone is created, but not really born. At least not in the conventional sense anyways...

Is a clone truly alive? Would they have a consience? Should they?
A clone is truly alive in the same sense that the original is alive; cloned humans would be humans nonetheless (and not brain-dead spawn) while something like a cloned tree wouldn't be conscious because trees aren't conscious that I'm aware of.
I see. Well lets look at it from both ways to clone. The relistic way that we can accomplish now does involve conventional birth, as in it grows in a mothers womb and exits at some point. Still that does't erase the fact that it's still a copy of a (possibly) living human being. would it be told at some point that it is a clone or would that just cause chaos and ruin to it? Would the aging prosses be messed up at all?
Flash cloning we can't do yet, and probobly not be able to do for a loooong time. If a person is flash cloned would it belive itself to be the original? If every atom is cloned into this person would they retain memorys of things that the original person has experienced?
I don't see how being a copy of someone else would totally ruin one's life. I mean, if someone told me I was a clone (and was a credible source), I'd say something along the lines of "sweet, there's two awesome people on this planet" other than "baw, I'm unoriginal."
As for flash cloning, they (I assume) would retain memories, because if it is an atom-by-atom copy, their brain structure would be exactly the same and would hold the same memories. Even then, most people wouldn't really treat it as a big deal (if they believe it in the first place, that is).
 
Cloning people is a silly thought. Considering if one wants to clone a dead loved one, it still would not be them. A person is shaped by his or her experiences; the clone would not have those experiences and would instead experience other things, making the clone a whole different person who looks exactly like the original.

Cloning for body parts is wrong. Why create a whole being with thoughts and feelings just to be a liver incubator? (plug: The Island, go watch it.)

I can see cloning organs so that there will be more to give to people who need them, but not the whole person. But then if we can create organs so easily, bad things might happen there too. (plug: Repo! The Genetic Opera, go watch it.)

Note on twins: Same DNA, different fingerprints, because when the fetuses (feti?) grow, the way the skin stretches on the body is different. DNA has nothing to do with fingerprints.
 
Also, twins don't have the exact same DNA. Fingerprints, for example. They have the same sets but mixed. Let's say Twin A has the DNA combination +-+--+. Twin B may have -++-+-. The same genes, just scrambled.

iirc, Monozygotic twins are naturally occuring clones and their underlying DNA sequences are identical, although environmental factors (as early as conditions in the womb) contribute to genes being switched on or off and expressing themselves differently, leading to differences between the twins caused by genetics. The same would happen with a human-made clone.

(unless A-level biology taught me very wrongly - which is highly possible)
 
Additionally, it wouldn't be fair for the clone, either. You can imagine why.

Cloning, stem cell research and the like all boil down to a What Measure is a Non-Human. And as long as there are conflicting viewpoints, it should probably be kept away from.
 
Cloning for body parts is wrong. Why create a whole being with thoughts and feelings just to be a liver incubator? (plug: The Island, go watch it.)

I can see cloning organs so that there will be more to give to people who need them, but not the whole person. But then if we can create organs so easily, bad things might happen there too. (plug: Repo! The Genetic Opera, go watch it.)
I'm talking about organs. It's extremely similar to the stem cell research.

And if sci-fi shows have taught me something, it's that clones are also human in nature. Think about it; what if all your life, you were just some copy of another guy whom your "creator" wanted to live on through you? Some clones may consider living normally, thinking it's for the best and that it did create a new life into the world. Others would consider it selfish and it may cause massive chaos, especially if the original is still alive.

Stem cell research wasn't about human or non-human, it was about obtaining said cells. At first, the only way was for human zygotes, and that raised a problem. Now, I think extremely sensitive skin cells work to the same effect.

@Dannichu: I always thought genes were predetermined from the moment the X and Y meet, creating a new set of genes with mixed characteristics. I don't think genes can be changed after the zygote has formed.
 
Nah she wasn't really cloned. It was some cult going on about how ET had given them super technology, and they'd managed to clone a girl with it or somthing. Turned out that it was fake and stuff.

Also, it is probably possible to clone humans, it's just that Dolly took over 200 attempts and each of the failures were deformed and died pretty quickly, so they'll probably never attempt human cloning. (Apart from an Umbrella type of organisation.)
 
Cloning people is a silly thought. Considering if one wants to clone a dead loved one, it still would not be them. A person is shaped by his or her experiences; the clone would not have those experiences and would instead experience other things, making the clone a whole different person who looks exactly like the original.

Assuming all the atoms were cloned as well, would the clone not have the same memories and thus personality of the original, even though it never went through the same expeiriences? Thinking like that, couldn't we consider the clone to be the same being as the original?
 
Assuming all the atoms were cloned as well, would the clone not have the same memories and thus personality of the original, even though it never went through the same expeiriences? Thinking like that, couldn't we consider the clone to be the same being as the original?

Even if the two were exactly the same would there be any reprecutions for creating another human thjat's exactly like another. Twins don't count because even though they're physicly the same person, mentaly they arn't... Usualy, I think...
 
Twins don't count because even though they're physicly the same person, mentaly they arn't... Usualy, I think...

What makes you think a clone would be the same, mentally? Identical twins are literally clones, and there's no reason to believe any other type of clone would act differently.
 
Even if the two were exactly the same would there be any reprecutions for creating another human thjat's exactly like another. Twins don't count because even though they're physicly the same person, mentaly they arn't... Usualy, I think...

From what I have heard, seen, and read, they even have similar thought patterns, to the point where they will wear similar (although not identical) clothing despite living a country away
 
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