Term Papers on THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT:

Term Paper Title	THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT:
# of Words	2260
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	9.04

THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT:

Ethical or Unethical?

ENGLISH 101

Monday, April 4, 2000.

Cloning a human being is something that has been fantasized for a long time in

science fiction.  Until now, never in history has science been able to so deeply impact

human lives, as genetic engineering will. The Human Genome Project, is an international

effort to “map” the 3 billion parts of proteins that make up human deoxyribonucleic acid

(DNA), is to be completed by the year 2003; the use of such technology poses an eminent

threat to society as we know it. Cloning humans has recently become much more feasible

in today’s society than it was twenty years ago, yet is it unclear if it is ethical or unethical

to do so. Scientific and ethical studies of cloning have proven that cloning will have a

negative rather than a positive effect on today’s society. Whether or not a scientist should

or should not clone humans is a tough question to answer.  My main focus is not on

whether human cloning should be done, but rather is it ethically right to do so.

I believe that the Human Genome Project is unethical, because of all the harmful

possibilities, such as the development of a super-race, the production of bio-logical

weapons of mass destruction, and religious and evolutionary consequences. I would like

to see this published in a college newspaper because, it is my hope that college students

who will become the world’s future scientists and lawmakers will take into consideration

many of these views. The Human Genome Project today is often sugar coated promising

that it will increase the life expectancy of each individual by the creation of new vaccines

for diseases such as cancer and aids. The question that must be asked is; what is the

Human Genome Project capable of?

It has been almost a hundred years since the first clone was ever created. In 1902,

German embryologist Hans Spermann, used a strand of hair to split apart cells of a two-

celled salamander, and obtained a normal salamander from each cell. Thirty-six years

later, Spermann used nuclear transportation to create a clone. He then took

the nucleus, the cellular structure that contains the most genetic material and controls

growth and development, and removed it from an egg cell of an organism. Through

this process Spermann had successfully created another clone. A few years later,

other scientists were able to clone plants. Plants were simple in structure and cloning

them became very popular with scientists. Scientists have cloned fruits, vegetables,

trees, and plant life. This technique of cloning plants enables scientists to select a

desirable plant and produce as many identical copies of it as they wish. The next step

in cloning was taken in 1952, scientists kept attempting to clone frogs but the cells

always ended up dying and the scientists stopped trying to clone frogs. Then in 1970,

scientists again tried to clone frogs but failed again. Finally scientists, realized that a

more complex animal such as a mammal could not be cloned. However, in 1996,

Hans Spermann's idea of nuclear transportation resurfaced, it  was used very

extensively by Scottish scientists and was proven successful. The arrival of Dolly, a

sheep developed from an egg whose own genes had been replaced by those from an

adult udder cell, was seen as the first incarnation of a sinister future. Scientists at the

Roslin Institute in Scotland cloned Dolly. For the first time, a complex animal had

been cloned from a body cell (Humancloning.org). Ever since the announcement of

Dolly, many questions, concerns, and comments have surfaced. In 1997, scientist

Richard Seed announced that he planned to clone a human. An uproar by religious

and scientific communities alike brought about many ethical and moral controversies...

This is ONLY a preview of the article. If you would like to view the entire document, you must subscribe to Digital Term Papers. Please register below now!

Digital Term Papers has over 63,000 essays, term papers, and book notes online. Many paper sites will charge you hundreds of dollars for a single paper. Digital Term Papers only charges $14.95 for a one month membership with instant account activation!

Don't waste anymore time! Join NOW!!!

1 Month (automatic renewal) ($14.95)

3 Months (automatic renewal) ($29.95)

6 Months (one-time billing) ($39.95)

Pay by: