Yes, this is my absolute first entry on a social media platform. If you see something that I can improve (I’m sure I can write better!) leave me some thoughts!
Last week I read an article about Chinese scientists successfully cloned monkeys with the same technique Dolly was cloned.
Dolly, some of us may still know it, was the first animal that got cloned from a mature sheep.
But how is this possible? They use a method called “somatic cell nuclear transfer” (SCNT) where they take a nucleus of a cell (the core of a cell with all its information, also the animals DNA) and put it into an egg that had its nucleus removed. So prepared, it can be assured that there will be no other DNA mixed up in the embryo. This egg is then implanted into another animal mother like artificial insemination and the “clone” will evolve like an “normal” animal.
But what does all this mean? By cloning human-like beings, many possibilities develop. On the one hand, these clones can be used to better investigate previously incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease. It is precisely through the fact that almost identical beings can be exposed to various external influences to better understand interactions.
This can also benefit cancer research. By manipulating some genes, it is possible to find out which genes may be useful in the fight against cancer, or even prevent it from developing in the first place.
In addition to all the possibilities that come with this breakthrough, there are also concerns. Is it even necessary to create new (intelligent) life to destroy it prematurely in the sense of research? Isn’t smaller life forms (bacteria) enough?
Conspiracy theorists could also claim that it is now not far away that people could be cloned for research. Of course, this offers almost limitless space for fan fantasies.
Apart from these rather more technical/scientific concerns, one should ask oneself whether cloned life is synonymous with naturally produced life. I personally do not trust myself to answer that question.