On April 24th this year, the Youth League Committee of Tongji Medical University and the Student Union organized a debate contest for college students, and had a heated debate on the advantages and disadvantages of the development of cloning technology. It seems that the problem of cloning has aroused people's concern and thinking.
Cloning is the transliteration of Clone, which means asexual reproduction, and cloning technology is asexual reproduction technology. In nature, many plants have a natural cloning instinct. On the basis of understanding and mastering the inherent law of animal and plant cloning technology, scientists have carried out cloning research on animals and plants and achieved remarkable research results.
Cloning technology is a great progress in human science and technology, which has a breakthrough significance. The application of cloning technology has the following advantages: first, using biotechnology such as cloning to change the genotype of crops and produce a large number of new varieties with disease resistance, insect resistance and salt tolerance, thus greatly improving the yield of crops. The second is to cultivate a large number of excellent livestock, such as cattle, sheep and pigs with good meat quality, and also cultivate some cows with high milk production and rich nutrients needed by human body. Third, it has great influence on medical treatment, such as finding out the pathogenic genes by molecular cloning technology and putting forward the molecular biological mechanism of diseases; Cloning a transgenic sheep whose milk contains drug protein for treating hemophilia can better meet the dietotherapy needs of hemophilia patients. Seeking a wider source of organ transplantation, introducing human organ tissues and immune system genes into animals to grow the needed human organs can reduce immune rejection and improve the success rate of transplantation. Fourth, in order to protect the environment and endangered animals and plants, species are propagated through cloning technology. The fifth is to provide more suitable animals for medical research and greatly improve the accuracy and safety of the experiment. Wait a minute.
Some scholars believe that cloning technology is worrying, which will fundamentally destroy the uniqueness of biological individuals and may have an unexpected impact on the ecosystem. The negative effects of cloning technology, especially human cloning, will lead to very thorny social and ethical problems, which have been widely concerned and discussed by academic circles. The possibility of technology does not mean the legitimacy of value. If scientists only pay attention to the technical possibility and ignore its value legitimacy in the research of cloning technology, then cloning technology will do more harm than good, even a disaster.
From the perspective of moral value, there are the following aspects: First, from the perspective of social ethics, human cloning is an excessive intervention in human development, which may affect the natural composition and development of human race. Second, from the perspective of family ethics, it will aggravate the tendency of family diversification, disintegrate the normal interpersonal order, change people's kinship and lose their basic sense of belonging. Thirdly, from the perspective of sexual ethics, it completely changed the natural fertility model based on sex, separated the fertility of the population from sex, and destroyed human feelings. Fourthly, from the perspective of bioethics, it destroys people's right to have unique genes, which may lead to the degradation of human race and shake the normal view of life and death.
Some scholars also critically reflect on the possible negative consequences of cloning technology from a broader perspective. In addition to the above moral level, this is also manifested in the following aspects: first, at the ecological level, gene replication caused by cloning technology will threaten the maintenance of gene diversity, and the evolution of organisms will go through a reverse process, that is, from complexity to simplicity, which is extremely unfavorable to the survival of organisms. Secondly, at the cultural level, human cloning is a substitute and negation of natural reproduction, which breaks the self-discipline of biological evolution and has a typical anti-natural nature. It runs counter to the basic cultural trend of advocating the unity of man and nature and returning to nature. Thirdly, on the philosophical level, the realization of human self-replication and self-reproduction through cloning technology may lead to the disorder of human body-mind relationship. People's unrepeatable and irreplaceable personality rules have lost their uniqueness and the natural basis and biological premise of themselves and their personality characteristics because of a large number of copies.
When new technology conflicts with people's ideas, we should treat bioethics with a rational attitude, respect both science and technology and human dignity, and let time resolve the contradictions. The development of human history shows that ethical standards will evolve with the progress and development of society, and the social ethical obstacles encountered by human asexual reproduction will be solved in the future society.
Cloning human embryos: advantages and disadvantages are double-edged swords
South Korean researchers say they will seek the medical value of cloning embryonic stem cells, and they are not interested in making cloned babies.
However, these cloned embryos thrive in laboratory Petri dishes, which has exceeded the "age" of artificially fertilized embryos put into the uterus during infertility treatment. This means that these cloned embryos have the potential to develop into fetuses.
Gerald, an animal cloning researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine? Sha Teng said that it should be noted that this achievement has made mankind take another step towards cloning human bodies. Sato opposes human cloning, but agrees with the research of Korean scientists.
The research of Korean scientists has ignited a long-standing controversy about human cloning and stem cell research in the United States. Some American organizations have once again called for legislation to ban the manufacture of cloned babies. For ethical and medical reasons, this appeal has been widely supported by political circles. However, the US Congress has not passed a similar bill. Because some lawmakers want to legislate not only to ban the manufacture of cloned babies, but also to ban cloned embryos for medical research.
Some women's rights activists oppose the use of cloning human embryos as a means of making stem cells, saying that this method requires many human eggs and egg donors, and the drugs involved in this process are not without danger. Xinhua news agency for this newspaper
Some scholars believe that cloning technology is worrying, which will fundamentally destroy the uniqueness of biological individuals and may have an unexpected impact on the ecosystem. The negative effects of cloning technology, especially human cloning, will lead to very thorny social and ethical problems, which have been widely concerned and discussed by academic circles. The possibility of technology does not mean the legitimacy of value. If scientists only focus on the technical possibility and ignore its value and legitimacy when studying cloning technology, then cloning technology will bring more harm than good, even disaster to mankind.
However, in my opinion, it is a good thing to create the tissue cells needed for cloning to save a dying organ of the human body. In medical treatment, organ transplantation is still a big problem until today. Every year, so many people lose hope in life because they can't wait for donors. On the other hand, the evil organ trade is also going on in the dark. Some international criminal gangs make use of the disparity between the supply and demand of human organs to make a fortune, trafficking in people, killing people, stealing babies, smuggling and so on. Not long ago, it was reported that a "grandma wolf" in a country gave her grandson to an organ dealer, which was creepy.
If one day people who need to change organs do not need to transplant other people's organs, they just need to take down somatic cells and clone them into blastocysts, then obtain embryonic stem cells, and finally cultivate organs that match them completely, so that the diseased organs can be updated. In this way, patients are more likely to be cured, and there is no market for organ dealers who secretly do evil. Cloning human embryos can indeed obtain cells, tissues and even organs that are completely consistent with patients. This is undoubtedly a godsend for dying patients with leukemia, Parkinson's disease, heart disease and cancer.
For example, leukemia can only be cured by bone marrow transplantation, and finding a matching bone marrow is a long and arduous process. If you find it, you are lucky. If you can't find it, you can only accept your fate. Moreover, every country and region invests a huge sum of money to establish and maintain the bone marrow bank every year.
Therefore, it is hoped that "therapeutic cloning" can be applied to clinic as soon as possible to help all leukemia patients win time and life, so that they can avoid the torture of waiting hard, and the risk of rejection still exists after successful matching. For medical institutions, there is no need to spend so much manpower and material resources to expand the capacity of bone marrow bank.
Clone a small embryo, stop it from growing up, and then make a part of it grow into a heart, muscle or even hair as needed, which can be used as a part.
This is very convenient. In the future, mankind will be really happy and all parts of the body will be guaranteed. Don't worry about disturbing daily life and ethics. It is just an early embryo, just like a machine that produces parts. These cloned lives are not combined into a human form to scare you, but are transferred to you in stages according to your needs. As a result, people and cloned products become one, just like the constantly updated version of the computer system. After thinking about it, I was a little confused. I couldn't tell whether I was waiting for the installation of parts or the development of parts.
Let me tell you more advantages and disadvantages.
Cloning technology will bring great benefits to mankind. For example, the ewe bred by British PPL company contains A- 1 antitrypsin for treating emphysema. The price of this goat's milk is $6,000 a liter. A ewe is like a pharmaceutical factory. What is the most effective and convenient way to breed this kind of sheep? The best way is to "clone". Similarly, PHP bull in the Netherlands and LAS in Israel have also developed this capability.
Sheep that produce serum albumin, how can these high value-added livestock breed effectively? The answer is of course "cloning". A mare and a donkey can get an animal with a particularly strong heterosis-a mule, but mules can't reproduce. So, how does an excellent mule expand its reproduction? The best way is also "cloning". The giant panda in China is a national treasure, but its natural mating success rate is low and it is on the verge of extinction. How to save the large-scale cloning of this rare animal provides a practical way for human beings. A mare and a donkey can get an animal with a particularly strong heterosis-a mule, but mules can't reproduce. So, how does an excellent mule expand its reproduction? The best way is also "cloning". The giant panda in China is a national treasure, but its natural mating success rate is low and it is on the verge of extinction. How to save the large-scale cloning of this rare animal provides a practical way for human beings. In addition, cloning animals plays an important role in studying cancer biology, immunology and human life span. Undeniably, the appearance of "cloned sheep" has also aroused many people's interest in "human cloning". For example, some people are considering whether they can clone an embryo from their own cells and freeze it before it takes shape. One day in the future, when something goes wrong with one of our own organs, we can take this organ out of the embryo for culture and then replace our diseased organs, which is to provide ourselves with "accessories" through cloning.
Human cloning has always been opposed by the overwhelming majority of people all over the world. First of all, it is difficult to identify the identity of clones, and their relationship with cloned people cannot be incorporated into the existing ethical system. Secondly, the process of human reproduction no longer needs the participation of both sexes, which will have an unbearable impact on the existing social relations and family structure. Third, human cloning technology may be abused and become a tool for terrorists. Fourth, in terms of biodiversity, a large number of clones with identical genetic structures may induce the widespread spread of new diseases, which is not conducive to human survival. Fifthly, human cloning may have psychological defects due to its special status, which may lead to new social problems.
The discussion about "human cloning" reminds people that scientific and technological progress is a mixed March. The more science and technology develop, the wider and deeper it penetrates into society, and the more likely it is to cause many ethical, moral and legal problems. I want to end this article with a sentence from J.D. Watson, a famous molecular biologist who won the Nobel Prize: "It can be expected that many biologists, especially those engaged in asexual reproduction research, will seriously consider its significance and start scientific discussions to educate people all over the world.
United Nations 19 1 Member States almost unanimously oppose human cloning, but they are divided into two opposing factions on stem cell cloning and other cloning research issues. For more than a year, the Legal Committee of the United Nations General Assembly has held a heated discussion on this issue. Countries led by Costa Rica believe that all cloning activities should be banned. Countries led by Belgium advocate allowing some cloning activities to be used in scientific research.
Belgian official to the United Nations Mark? Paxton said that due to the deadlock, the two sides finally agreed on June 5438+08 to use a vague and invalid draft as the basis for future discussions on cloning. He said: "The differences in the international community are so great that we cannot reach a consensus on any treaty. We have to find a common language expression that everyone can accept. " This draft was put forward by Italy, and the Legal Committee of the United Nations General Assembly will have a preliminary discussion on it.
At the United Nations General Assembly in August this year, US President Bush called for a total ban on cloning activities. He said: "human life should not be created or destroyed for the benefit of another person."
However, many researchers believe that stem cell cloning research is of great benefit to human society and may solve many medical problems.
Human cloning violates human bioethics.
Should modern science and technology, especially modern life science and technology, respect ethical principles and listen to ethical voices? Experts point out that some scientific lunatics secretly clone human beings in the United States-cloning human beings violates human life ethics.
Recently, many domestic media reprinted an amazing news reported by foreign media: a group of scientific lunatics manipulated by cult organizations are conducting a secret human cloning experiment in the depths of the desert in Nevada, USA. According to the same principle that British scientists created Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, they extracted cells from an American baby girl who died in February this year and cloned them. It is said that "if all goes well, the world's first clone will be born at the end of next year."
After the news was disclosed, cloning technology and its ethical issues once again became a hot topic of discussion. If this news is true, how to treat this matter and how to correctly evaluate and think about this issue, the reporter visited the director of the Ethics, Law and Society Department of the Southern Research Center of the National Human Genome and researcher Shen Mingxian of the Institute of Philosophy of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Shen said: Since Dolly sheep was successfully cloned by Roslin Institute in England in 1997, driven by fame and fortune, people abroad have been proposing and trying to engage in human cloning research. Although governments have banned it, reports related to human cloning have appeared in newspapers more than once in the past two years. However, it is really shocking that this time the speed is so fast and it is related to cult organizations.
It is understandable that parents who have lost their beloved daughter hope to revive their daughter through cloning technology. But if scientists use this to carry out experiments on human cloning, it is worth discussing. Professor Shen believes that even if cults are abandoned, this practice is not desirable. As far as "human cloning" is concerned, he will live in the shadow of "I am a replica of the dead". How will this affect his psychology?
According to the viewpoint of bioethics, science and technology should proceed from long-term interests and benefit all mankind. It must follow the four internationally recognized ethical principles of "doing good, not hurting, being independent and just". Dolly's sheep cloning has successfully experienced more than 200 failures, and there have been deformed or aborted sheep. However, human cloning is more complicated and will undoubtedly encounter more failures. If unhealthy, deformed and short-lived people are created, it is a violation of human rights.
The diversity of human genes is the biological basis of human evolution, and the so-called "immortality" that those scientific lunatics want to create is actually a copy of the same gene, which may reduce the diversity of genes and is not conducive to human evolution. Therefore, we should resolutely oppose human cloning from the perspectives of individuals, the whole, social evolution and bioethics.
Professor Shen pointed out that at present, the scientific community divides cloning into therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. The former uses embryonic stem cells to clone human organs for medical research to solve the problem of insufficient donors for organ transplantation, which is supported by the international scientific and ethical circles, but there is a premise that the embryos used for therapeutic cloning cannot exceed the limit of pregnancy 14 days. As for reproductive cloning, that is, human cloning, on the whole, it violates the principles of bioethics, so the mainstream opinion of scientists is firmly opposed. UNESCO, the World Health Organization, the International Human Genome Ethics Committee and governments all expressed their opposition to reproductive cloning very clearly. Even if human cloning is really born, we still have to stick to this basic position.
Modern science and technology is a double-edged sword, which will bring some negative effects while benefiting mankind. This raises a question for us: should modern science and technology, especially modern life science and technology, respect ethical principles or listen to ethical voices? Professor Shen pointed out: Now some scientists suggest that it should be done as long as it is scientifically possible. Actually, this is a wrong view. If technically we can create super life that seriously harms human beings, can we also create it? Some scientific lunatics are doing things that are harmful to mankind under the banner of "scientific freedom". Therefore, we should be wary of modern science and technology being used by some people with ulterior motives. In addition, the freedom of science and ethics cannot be opposed. The fact of the development of modern life science shows that the standardization and guidance of ethics does not restrict the development of science. Listening to the voice of ethics is conducive to the healthy and smooth development of science.
Human cloning violates human bioethics.
Should modern science and technology, especially modern life science and technology, respect ethical principles and listen to ethical voices? Experts point out that some scientific lunatics secretly clone human beings in the United States-cloning human beings violates human life ethics.
Recently, many domestic media reprinted an amazing news reported by foreign media: a group of scientific lunatics manipulated by cult organizations are conducting a secret human cloning experiment in the depths of the desert in Nevada, USA. According to the same principle that British scientists created Dolly, the world's first cloned sheep, they extracted cells from an American baby girl who died in February this year and cloned them. It is said that "if all goes well, the world's first clone will be born at the end of next year."
After the news was disclosed, cloning technology and its ethical issues once again became a hot topic of discussion. If this news is true, how to treat this matter and how to correctly evaluate and think about this issue, the reporter visited the director of the Ethics, Law and Society Department of the Southern Research Center of the National Human Genome and researcher Shen Mingxian of the Institute of Philosophy of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Professor Shen said: Since Dolly sheep was successfully cloned by Roslin Institute in England in 1997, driven by fame and fortune, people abroad have been proposing and trying to engage in human cloning research. Although governments have banned it, reports related to human cloning have appeared in newspapers more than once in the past two years. However, it is really shocking that this time the speed is so fast and it is related to cult organizations.
It is understandable that parents who have lost their beloved daughter hope to revive their daughter through cloning technology. But if scientists use this to carry out experiments on human cloning, it is worth discussing. Professor Shen believes that even if cults are abandoned, this practice is not desirable. As far as "human cloning" is concerned, he will live in the shadow of "I am a replica of the dead". How will this affect his psychology?
According to the viewpoint of bioethics, science and technology should proceed from long-term interests and benefit all mankind. It must follow the four internationally recognized ethical principles of "doing good, not hurting, being independent and just". Dolly's sheep cloning has successfully experienced more than 200 failures, and there have been deformed or aborted sheep. However, human cloning is more complicated and will undoubtedly encounter more failures. If unhealthy, deformed and short-lived people are created, it is a violation of human rights.
The diversity of human genes is the biological basis of human evolution, and the so-called "immortality" that those scientific lunatics want to create is actually a copy of the same gene, which may reduce the diversity of genes and is not conducive to human evolution. Therefore, we should resolutely oppose human cloning from the perspectives of individuals, the whole, social evolution and bioethics.
Professor Shen pointed out that at present, the scientific community divides cloning into therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. The former uses embryonic stem cells to clone human organs for medical research to solve the problem of insufficient donors for organ transplantation, which is supported by the international scientific and ethical circles, but there is a premise that the embryos used for therapeutic cloning cannot exceed the limit of pregnancy 14 days. As for reproductive cloning, that is, human cloning, on the whole, it violates the principles of bioethics, so the mainstream opinion of scientists is firmly opposed. UNESCO, the World Health Organization, the International Human Genome Ethics Committee and governments all expressed their opposition to reproductive cloning very clearly. Even if human cloning is really born, we still have to stick to this basic position.
Modern science and technology is a double-edged sword, which will bring some negative effects while benefiting mankind. This raises a question for us: should modern science and technology, especially modern life science and technology, respect ethical principles or listen to ethical voices? Professor Shen pointed out: Now some scientists suggest that it should be done as long as it is scientifically possible. Actually, this is a wrong view. If technically we can create super life that seriously harms human beings, can we also create it? Some scientific lunatics are doing things that are harmful to mankind under the banner of "scientific freedom". Therefore, we should be wary of modern science and technology being used by some people with ulterior motives. In addition, the freedom of science and ethics cannot be opposed. The fact of the development of modern life science shows that the standardization and guidance of ethics does not restrict the development of science. Listening to the voice of ethics is conducive to the healthy and smooth development of science.
-
Raindrops will turn into coffee, seeds will turn into roses, you will be tired along the way, and the rain will break when you touch it. Only knowledge is the most valuable!
In fact, the main reason why people can't accept human cloning experiments is the obstacle of traditional ethics. For thousands of years, human beings have been following the way of sexual reproduction, but human cloning is a product in the laboratory and a life created under human manipulation. Especially in the west, cloning "abandoning God to divide Adam and Eve" has been opposed by many religious organizations. Moreover, the relationship between clones is also contrary to the traditional ethical way of determining kinship by blood. All these make it impossible for clones to find a suitable place to live in traditional human ethics. However, as He Xiuxiu, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said, "The ethical issues of human cloning should be faced squarely, but there is no reason to oppose scientific and technological progress." The development of human society itself tells us that it is a historical progress for science and technology to drive people to update their ideas, while it is rigid to bind the development of science and technology with old ideas. Historically, blood transfusion technology, organ transplantation, etc. , has brought great ethical controversy, in 1978 when the first test-tube baby was born, caused an uproar, but now, people have been able to treat all this correctly. This shows that the idea of constantly updating in the face of scientific and technological development has not brought disaster to mankind, on the contrary, it has benefited mankind. As far as cloning technology is concerned, "therapeutic cloning" will make a breakthrough in producing transplanted organs and overcoming diseases, and bring revolutionary changes to biotechnology and medical technology. For example, when your daughter needs a bone marrow transplant, no one can provide it for her; When you unfortunately lost a 5-year-old child, you can't get rid of the pain; When you want to raise your own children but can't have children ... maybe you can realize the great scientific value and practical significance of cloning. The research of therapeutic cloning and the experiment of complete human cloning complement and promote each other. The end point of therapeutic cloning is the emergence of complete human cloning. If used properly, they can and should bring good news to human society.
Science has always been a double-edged sword. However, whether a scientific and technological progress is really beneficial to human beings depends on how human beings treat and apply it, rather than choking on it just because it is temporarily unreasonable. Cloning technology may indeed be the same as atomic energy technology, which can not only benefit mankind, but also cause endless harm. But the essence of "fear of technology" is the fear of misuse of technology, not the fear of technology itself. At present, the attitudes of all countries in the world towards human cloning are ambiguous. Last year, Britain passed a bill allowing the cloning of early human embryos with more than two-thirds of the votes, while in the United States, Germany and Australia, voices calling for relaxing restrictions on therapeutic cloning gradually sounded. It can be said that which country has mastered the technology of human cloning first means that it has the advantage and initiative, and the country that started late may suffer unpredictable losses. Just as the United States first mastered atomic energy technology, although this technology showed its evil side from the beginning, later countries had to step up research and experiments in this field. From this point of view alone, it is also worth discussing to adopt a simple negative attitude towards human cloning experiments.
As for people's fear that once the cloning technology is mature, thousands of "Hitler" will be cloned by people with ulterior motives, or another celebrity will be cloned to confuse people, that is a misunderstanding of cloning. The cloned person is only a genetic feature, and the social attributes such as thinking and personality influenced by many factors in the acquired environment cannot be exactly the same, that is, no matter how the cloning technology develops, only the human body can be cloned, but not the human soul, and there is an age gap between the cloned person and the cloned person. Therefore, the so-called human cloning is not a complete copy of human beings, historical figures will not be resurrected, and real people do not have to worry about having another "self".
In this way, human cloning is not the devil in Pandora's box, and its so-called "terrible" is just people's prejudice and misunderstanding based on traditional ethics. Perhaps what people urgently need to do now is to treat human cloning rationally with a serious scientific attitude, reach a consensus through discussion, speed up the legislation of human cloning and bring it into strict standardized management.
Xinhuanet Beijing 65438+ 10-3 (Song Jian) According to Reuters's report, Bridget, a French female scientist of the cult organization Relian Sect? Boicel said in an interview with British and French TV stations on the 2nd that the DNA identification of the first cloned baby girl born a few days ago will be postponed, and the second cloned baby girl will be born somewhere in Europe this week.
Boicel told reporters of French TV 2 and BBC 2 that because a judge in Florida this week asked the judicial department to appoint a legal guardian for the first cloned baby girl "Eve", the family of "Eve" was worried that if her identity was revealed, it would cause trouble, so the outside world called for DNA identification to be postponed.
Boisselier said that because Eve's family was under external pressure, she decided to consider whether to accept DNA identification in a few days. A few days ago, Boicel said that the DNA of "Eve" will be identified on February 3 1 65438, and the results will be announced a week later.
Boicel also said that the second clone will be born somewhere in Europe this week, and she thought that Europeans might be more tolerant of the second clone.
Boicel announced in the United States on February 27th, 65438 that the cloned baby girl "Eve" had been born "somewhere outside the United States", and its biological mother and cloned mother were the same American woman with the age of 3 1. After the news came out, it was immediately recognized by the international community and the medical science circles of various countries.