Biology Special Topics in Genetics: Cloning & Stem Cells

Read the following information. Thoroughly address each Activity and Question section
for your project. These sections are colored in beige.

Genetic Technology
Here are the opening paragraphs from two websites introducing genetic engineering which one
is Greenpeace and which is Monsanto?
1. Today, biotechnology holds out promise for consumers seeking quality, safety and taste in their food
choices; for farmers seeking new methods to improve their productivity and profitability; and for
governments and non-governmental public advocates seeking to stave off global hunger, assure
environmental quality, preserve bio-diversity and promote health and food safety.
2. Genetic engineering enables scientists to create plants, animals and micro-organisms by
manipulating genes in a way that does not occur naturally. These genetically modified organisms (GMO)
can spread through nature and interbreed with natural organisms, thereby contaminating non 'GE'
environments and future generations in an unforeseeable and uncontrollable way. Their release is
'genetic pollution' and is a major threat because GMOs cannot be recalled once released into the
environment.
Answer:
1) Monsanto
2) Greenpeace
When faced with issues of genetic engineering (GE) we have an extra question - Can we afford to get it
wrong? - as well as whether or not GE is morally "right".
Key GE technologies are:

gene transfer and plant cloning to create GM crops,

cloning genes to make human proteins

therapeutic or stem cell cloning to repair damage in humans and

reproductive cloning to create new animals.

Biology Special Topics in Genetics: Cloning & Stem Cells

Different types of cloning

It may be helpful to start a discussion of the ethical issues posed by the topic of cloning by defining some
terms:
A clone is an
organism that is
identical in
genetic
composition to
another
organism. Clones are usually produced by
asexual reproduction, but new techniques of
cell biology have enabled the laboratory
production of clones by transplantation of
the nucleus. See the basic process on
the next page.
Stem cells are the cells of the early embryo
from which all the cells in the adult body will
develop. They are said to be totipotent. The
term stem cell has also been used for other
undifferentiated cells in the body, for
example in the bone marrow. However,
these cells can only differentiate into types
of blood cell, and are said to be pluripotent.

Reproductive cloning
The basic process
Cloning is simply making genetic copies.
Gardeners clone when they take cuttings;
identical twins are natural clones, and frogs were first cloned by scientists working to establish the events
of early embryonic development in vertebrates in 1952. Cattle breeders have been producing clones by
splitting embryos for over 20 years. But when on 27th February 1997
the
news broke of the birth of Dolly the cloned sheep, there was
tremendous media interest, because this was the first time that a
mammal had been cloned.

Biology Special Topics in Genetics: Cloning & Stem Cells

This picture shows Dolly with her birth, but not genetic mother, and the diagram right explains how she
was created:
You can read more detail about this at http://www.synapses.co.uk/science/clone.html.

Cloning
History
The production of a live lamb from a cell from the mammary gland of an adult sheep turned over one of
the basic ideas of developmental biology. Until Dolly was born, it was thought that once a cell had
differentiated during embryonic life, the process could not be reversed.
As soon as the news of Dollys arrival broke, the Pope condemned the practice of cloning, and President
Clinton ordered an immediate and rapid enquiry into the ethical and legal implications.
Questions:

Why was the Dolly story so newsworthy?

Why were both the Pope and the President of the USA so concerned about this scientific first?

In 1998 the first human embryonic cells were isolated and made to divide in the laboratory (cell culture).
This re-ignited the medias interest in the possibility of human cloning, but also represented the first step
in using stem cells to help cure disability and disease.
The possibilities

use in research into basic developmental biology, e.g. to further our understanding of
differentiation and how this can be reversed;
use in testing of products, including new medicines: genetically identical animals would eliminate
any error due to genetic difference;
conserving useful characteristics in domestic animals, e.g. better meat or milk production in
cattle;
Do you agree that cloning should become a routine procedure?

Since Dolly was born, scientists around the world have successfully cloned more sheep, and also mice,
cattle, goats, pigs cats and, after many unsuccessful events, the first equine species: a mule. However,

Biology Special Topics in Genetics: Cloning & Stem Cells

the success rate of mammalian cloning is very low. You can read more about the cloning of new
species here: http://www.theguardian.com/gall/0,8542,627251,00.html. Notice particularly the cloned
kitten, Copy Cat (CC, or Carbon Copy) and her mother, Rainbow.

Recently, a Californian genetics company has started to offer a cat cloning service for
$50,000 (about 27,000) per animal. Do you think this is ethical?

There has been no success to date for rabbits, rats or monkeys.

Look at this website http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3076908/#.Vunv__krI2w and suggest reasons
why it might be more difficult to clone some species.

Knock Out Pigs.

Cloned pigs have been born which have been genetically modified to knock out certain genes. These
are the genes that make the pig organs reject if transplanted into humans. Pigs are thought to be a
potential source for animal-to-human transplant (a process known as xenotransplantation) because they
are easy to breed and their internal organs are a similar size to humans.
You can read more about this ground-breaking medical research here:
https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1737-knock-out-pig-clones-advance-transplant-hopes/
Visit the Beep section on Animals in Research http://www.beep.ac.uk/content/268.0.html and
make a list of the ethical arguments for and against the use of genetically modified pigs for
xenotransplantation.

The ethical issues

There are two main areas of ethical concern about mammal cloning:

Commodification of animals: treating them as commodities for human use.

Cloning animals is only a step towards cloning humans.

There are two ways in which human cloning can be regarded:

1. Reproductive cloning as in the production of Dolly, this would involve transfer of an adult
nucleus with the intention of producing a child. This is illegal in the UK.
2. Therapeutic cloning this would involve creation of an embryo by cloning to use the totipotent
stem cells in research into treatments for disability and disease. This is legal, and in 2005
Professor Ian Wilmut, the scientist who created Dolly was granted permission to start work into
the search for a cure for motor neurone disease (MND). However, in 2007 scientists in both
Japan and the US made breakthroughs in creating totipotent stem cells from skin.

Biology Special Topics in Genetics: Cloning & Stem Cells

Most people have instinctively rejected reproductive cloning. There are serious ethical issues with it,
which include:

Disregarding the special nature of embryos as potential humans;

Commodification of humans;

Production of designer babies producing desirable characteristics, which devalue others;

Uncertainty about the future physical and mental health of anyone produced by cloning;

Interference in the natural process of human procreation, which produces an infinite genetic mix.

Therapeutic cloning has opened up quite a debate, many scientists believe that the latest developments
in creating stem cells from skin rather than embryonic tissue are a welcome way forward.
Questions

What are the ethical arguments for and against using early embryos in research?

Why might a cloned human suffer psychologically, after all identical twins dont usually have a
problem?
Many religious people believe that humans are made in the image of God. Would this be any
different for a cloned person?

Therapeutic cloning: Stem Cell Therapy

Embryonic stem cells differentiate into all other types of cells, but lose this ability as the baby or animal
matures. They can be made to grow indefinitely in the laboratory, and under suitable conditions can be
made to differentiate into a range of cell types.
Many human diseases are due to functional failure of single types of body cells. As well as MND (motor
neurones), other examples include Parkinsons Disease and stroke (brain neurones); type 1
diabetes (pancreatic islet cells); heart attack (cardiac muscle).
Theoretically new healthy cells would reverse the symptoms of these conditions, and cloned embryonic
stem cells could be a suitable source. People suffering from permanent paralysis as a result of spinal
injuries might also benefit from stem cell therapy.

Thought Experiment:
The actor Christopher Reeve suffered a devastating accident in which his spinal cord was injured at the
level of his second cervical vertebra (C2). This meant that he was permanently paralysed from the neck
down and could not even breathe without a ventilator. He campaigned very hard to raise money for stem
cell research, but he met with a lot of opposition.
This came from those people who did not believe that it was right to create embryos for research. They
believe that embryos should have protection as potential human beings in their own right.

Biology Special Topics in Genetics: Cloning & Stem Cells

Decide which side of the argument you come into. Make a claim for or against the use of embryos in stem
cell research and argue your case using as much evidence as you can.
Find someone with the opposite view. Put your argument to them, and listen to theirs.
Consider if and how your position has changed from both the moral and spiritual points of view.

This information is taken directly from the following source:

"Welcome to the BioEthics Education Project." Teaching Controversial and Social Issues in
Science / Biology: BEEP BioEthics Education Project. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
You can go to the website for further information: http://www.beep.ac.uk/content/1.0.html