Human Cloning

Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."
So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:26,27
The Bible

Creationists believe God created the world. Faith in God and the wonders of nature powers this belief. Evolutionists believe life came about through changes in response to an adaptive process over successive generations. These changes they believe are heritable and account for the rich biodiversity in nature.

Over time, advances in science and technology have seen medicine and science undergo their own evolutionary process, myths have been debunked, facts and theories changed and new laws enacted to explain nature, science and the order of things. But the story of the creationists never changed, God created the world and man, anything else is a lie.

Even at its core, the evolution theory has its holes, one that gives creationists smug satisfaction. What happened at the beginning? How did life begin? The answer to this question bugged evolutionists for so long, they must have felt a little validated when they got an explanation.The cell theory, advances in physics, physiology, chemistry, biology, and genetics, collided like a freight train. Now, not only could they explain how life began, they could even create life.

Who has watched Orphan Black? I am not a ‘movie person’ but I avidly watched this TVseries. Behind a flawless performance by Tatiana Maslany, the plot centers around cloning, the ethics and the role companies behind cloning play in managing the science, the upheaval and the breakthrough of human cloning.

If you are in anyway curious about human cloning, don’t rely on this article, watch Orphan Black.

What is Human Cloning?

Human cloning is the creation of an exact genetic copy of another human. The process is completely artificial and differs from the natural creation of carbon copies in identical twins.

The biodiversity in nature is rich, complex and vital to our survival. The process of cellular division in meiosis ensures that no two persons are genetically alike. The exception exists for monozygotic twins that results when a sperm fertilizes an ovum, then the resulting zygote splits. Yet epigenetic and environmental factors ensure that the identical twins have distinct personalities.

Sexual reproduction process, therefore, ensures that the offspring are distinct from their parents.
In cloning, however, the opposite happens. One organism that is identical to another is formed. The result is called a clone.

It is a form of asexual reproduction, the opposite of sexual reproduction. Here, there is no mixing of genetic information that occurs when the sperm and the ovum meet to form the biologically distinct zygote. Instead, the offspring arise from the parent and has the same genetic information as the parent. Asexual reproduction is the form of reproduction existing in lower animals. Single-celled organisms, some plants, and fungi reproduce asexually.

Sexual reproduction is an upgrade in reproduction because it produces distinct offspring with advantageous traits.

History of Human Cloning

One of the reasons I like writing fiction is the opportunity to ‘play god.’ I create characters, form the plot, I determine their past, their present, and future. The beauty of our imagination is an endless stretch filled with possibilities. For some, it provides an escape, and yet for others, it creates a window, a step into a brilliance of such overwhelming brightness that others are blinded by it.

I like to think cloning is the birth of a brilliant imagination.

The first attempt at cloning dates back as far as 1938 in the Hans Spemman experiment. Since then, a cat, a cow, a buffalo, a mouse, a monkey, a horse, a deer, fruit flies, labrador dog, wolf, a female camel and of course, the famous Dolly has been cloned, successfully.
A hybrid human clone was created in 1998 but destroyed after 12 days. No human has been successfully cloned. But in 2008, Dr. Andrew French and Samuel Wood cloned five embryos. In 2011, scientists at the New York Stem Cell Foundation developed embryonic stem cell lines, but as they used a nucleated oocyte, the resultant triploid cell could not be used for cloning.

In 2013, a group of scientists led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov successfully used somatic cell nuclear transfer to create embryonic stem cells. This is the first reported use of SCNT on human cells.
Scientists found it difficult to clone primates because the process of gene activation is different and the absence of the spindle proteins makes the process almost impossible.

But in 2018, the first primates were successfully cloned using somatic cell nuclear transfer. Two female crab-eating macaques were created.

Do you think human cloning can be far behind?

Types Of Human Cloning

How are human clones created? There are two types of human cloning.

• Therapeutic cloning
• Reproductive cloning

Therapeutic cloning involves creating cloned cells and using them to treat diseases.

A stem cell is an undifferentiated cell that can differentiate into other types of cell, divide and produce more of the same cells.

In therapeutic cloning, a DNA is inserted into a denucleated stem cell (a stem cell with its nucleus removed). The new stem cell with its resident DNA is allowed to divide and produce new organisms.
After these new cells are activated to differentiate, the resulting cells can be used for therapeutic purposes.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer SCNT is a process used to create an embryo from a somatic cell and an ovum. This method is used in both therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning.

In SCNT, a nucleus from a somatic cell is extracted and inserted into a denucleated ovum. When fusion has occurred, the resulting cell is then allowed to grow in a surrogate or in an artificial environment. SCNT was used successfully to create Dolly the sheep.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)

A pluripotent cell is a stem cell that can differentiate into any of the three germ layers- endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. The use of induced pluripotent stem cells in cloning has not been as efficient and successful as SCNT.

The process of transforming adult cells into pluripotent cells is fraught with dangers but holds a key breakthrough in regenerative medicine if successful.
Reproductive cloning

Unlike therapeutic cloning where cloned cells are created to treat diseases, in reproductive cloning, a whole being is created. Though no official report of a cloned human has been reported, sheep, rats, cats, dogs and even monkeys have been cloned.

Cloning monkeys gives hope that humans can be cloned.

Bioethics of Human Cloning

The ethical issues in human cloning have been controversial and deemed to have far-reaching consequences. Various ethical issues have been raised and deliberated on regarding cloning, not only of humans but even animals.

Religious groups are adamantly against cloning, their rationale being, cloning is man trying to play God and disrupting the natural order of things.

While some support the use of therapeutic cloning for treating and understanding various pathophysiologic states, some are against the use of cloned animals in livestock production, viewing the act as inhumane and unnecessary. After all its not as if the world is on the verge of extinction from lack of meat.

Yet some others take a cautious but stubborn approach. While they believe the technology would do a lot of good, they are concerned about the number of embryo (lives) that would be sacrificed to make the operation successful.

Donald Marshall and Cloning

Yet others are concerned with the dangers that human cloning poses. They fear the process can be abused by powerful figures. In fact, #DonaldMarshall believes that extensive cloning stations are already being run by a powerful group called The Vril Society, the Scientologists and the Freemasons. Popularly known as Illuminati, Donald Marshall believes the G20 world leaders and powerful celebrities are members.

He went on to describe an extensive network of cloning centers where the clones are used for organ harvesting, entertainment purposes and the satisfaction of sexual perversions.

Though it reads like a fantasy, a Google search will produce over 200,000 results.

Pros and Cons of Human Cloning

Human cloning is a breakthrough and a boon to regenerative medicine. As much as the bioethics and religious groups may tighten their stand and argue their point, the fact remains, we stand to gain much from human cloning.

Human cloning has the following advantages

• It can be used to treat patients who are unable to obtain transplants.
• Since an identical organ or cell can be provided, there will be no need for immunosuppressive drugs.
• It just might hold the answer to understanding and staving off aging.
• Parents who can’t have their own children and don’t want to take the adoption route can have their genetically related offspring through this option.
• Using cloned animals for drug testing makes it possible to have a clearer result.
• Cloned animals can be harvested for meat and milk.
• Extinct and endangered species can be ‘brought back’ again through cloning.
• It can help in the understanding of pathophysiologic states. For example, genes can be activated or reactivated and studied.
• Induced human pluripotent stem cells have enhanced our understanding of embryology and pathology.
• It will create a breakthrough for regenerative medicine. They might be no need for organ transplantation, fear of tissue rejection and the use of immunosuppressive drugs.

Disadvantages

• Human cloning is still in its early stages. The possibility of failure far higher than that of success.
• Clones that will survive may suffer from many genetic abnormalities and have a short lifespan.
• Failure at any stage of the process will raise even more flags than animal cloning.
• It is an expensive process.
• The value of human life may be reduced if human cloning is successful.
• The ‘sense of self’ will be lost.

The Future of Human Cloning

Due to scientific, ethical and commercial reasons, the process of human cloning is officially at a stalemate. That is unless Donald Marshall is right and the technology is already being used and abused.

In 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a Declaration on Human Cloning, disallowing any kind of human cloning "inasmuch as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life."
Now, I stare into the mirror and make a critical study of myself. I understand the ‘sense of immortality’ of having a ‘mini me.’ I do.

But at what cost? Over 200 embryos were used and discarded before Dolly the sheep was successfully created. Human life is precious. No sane person wishes to die. Even the sick fight to live.

Would this view of human life remain if we know we can scientifically and artificially get another? Even worse, perhaps Donald Marshall is right and we are all in the dark, fools, being deceived by the powerful and mighty.

All images are from pixabay

<sup>References
A brief history of cloning
cloning
evolutionhttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/evolution)
Human cloning
9 unexpected outcomes of human cloning
Human Cloning
Here's why we’re still not cloning humans, 20 years after Dolly the sheep

How human cloning will work
How afraid of human cloning should we be?
6 important pros and cons of cloning humans
stem cell
The Book Of Genesis
What is human cloning: definition, pros ans cons
The Illuminati’s Secret Celebrity Murder and Cloning Centers, Explained</sup>