2006-07-28 06:16:47 · 6 answers · asked by kathy6500 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Other - Science
Because where it counts (humans) its just not viable yet. Possible, yes, viable no. It would take SOO many attempts just to get ONE to live and then it wouldn't necessarily be healthy or "whole bodied." Meaning it could be diseased, or malformed. So, right now, we just don't have the technology. Another 20 years . . .
2006-07-28 06:23:48 · answer #1 · answered by AdamKadmon 7 · 3⤊ 3⤋
The most advanced cloning experiment that was done was Dolly the Sheep and her clone Polly. One of the problems with this cloning was that because the cells had shortened telomeres these sheep aged more quickly than normal sheep. You see, our cells are not supposed to divide indefinitely, they have telomeres that get shorter each time a division occurs and then division stops when they run out. When this process breaks the cells become cancerous.
When the actual reproductive cells are made and fertilization occurs this isn't a problem because they are designed to divide properly under the conditions of embryonic development. In other words, the early stem cells can divide an umlimited number of times and are not limited by telomeres. However, new rules apply as the embryo gets larger then most cells stop functioning as stem cells and only function as a particular tissue, like skin.
Because the cell nuclei used to clone the sheep were taken from body cells these already had shortened telomeres. This is a problem because let's say you wanted to clone a champion race horse you would need either stem cells or cells from when the horse was young or the resulting cloned horse would age more rapidly and might not be a very effective racer.
As far as I know, there isn't a good process yet for separating out stem cells in adults. There are stem cells in the bone marrow but these are only a tiny fraction. Cloning might pick up again if they find a way to isolate adult stem cells. In a similar vein they would also like to find out what causes stem cell differentiation. If they could figure this out then it might be possible to grow new cells of any given type from stem cells. For example, perhaps you could make new nerve cells to help a person with brain damage or paralysis, or new T cells for someone whose immune system was damaged, or new cardiac muscles tissue for a person with heart disease.
2006-07-28 13:58:54 · answer #2 · answered by scientia 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cloning is quite alive and active in the scientific community. Some have mentioned stem cell research, which is a very vigorous area of research despite the opposition of U.S. fundamentalist Christians and their allies in the White House. Around the world, cloning to produce healthy organs for transplants, reproduce animal types, create genetically-engineered crops and other purposes is a huge industry.
In the U.S. cloning is a big business in cattle, horses, valuable types of farm animals, and even pets. People now have their favorite cats and dogs cloned.
Cloning of human beings, whole and entire, is possible. It is much frowned upon for serious ethical reasons.
As for the stem cell dbate, that's been done at length here and the various answers are easily searched. Personally, I think the anti-abortion aspect of that debate is baloney - there are other agendas involved, mainly fear of cloning of humans or human body parts.
2006-07-28 15:08:17 · answer #3 · answered by Der Lange 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There was some Korean guy that got a lot of fame for cloning humans but he was found guilty of fraught. So the technology turned out to be less advanced than we thought. Also, the whole filed got somewhat associated with dishonest science because of the incident. Which is a shame.
2006-07-28 13:28:50 · answer #4 · answered by helene_thygesen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's become taboo. Their is a great deal of moral opposition with regards to cloning, and also cloned animals have had noteably short lifespans.
Other problems include a host of deformities while trying to get an acceptable result. This of course plays heavily into moral issues with cloning humans. Is it morally acceptable to create and abort ten mutated babies to produce one genetically acceptable baby? I would say, "No".
On the other hand, the cloning of organs via stemcells is a fantastic idea that doesn't require the generation of a new life.
2006-07-28 13:21:24 · answer #5 · answered by Z33K Zmorphod 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because its stupid ta have two of da same person!!!!!!!!! Dats 2 times more drugs and killings.
2006-07-28 13:20:12 · answer #6 · answered by Da Baddest Bitch 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋