If you read the newspaper or listen to television news,
you have heard a lot about cloning. Do you know exactly what
a clone is? According to the dictionary, a clone is a group
of genetically identical cells that are descended from a
common ancestor, such as a clone of bacterial cells grown
from one original bacterial cell in a laboratory. A clone
could also be an organism that grew from a single parent by
asexual reproduction. For example, an organism called a
hydra reproduces asexually by growing buds from its body.
When the buds mature and drop off, they are new organisms
that are genetically identical to the parent, and thus they
are clones of the single parent hydra. A clone could also be
a replica of a DNA sequence that is produced through genetic
engineering.
However, these definitions of a clone don't really
address the current debate about cloning. A sheep named
Dolly was the very first clone of an adult mammal. Dolly was
news because for the first time a clone was created from
differentiated cells - that is, cells that were not
embryonic. Since Dolly, researchers the world over have been
creating clones of other mammals, including mice and cows.
Because human beings are also mammals, scientists have begun
to discuss the ethical, moral, legal, and biological issues
that might result from the cloning of human beings. Under
what circumstances should cloning be allowed? Is it
acceptable to clone bacteria or mice? Is it acceptable to
clone your favorite pet animal? Should cloning of human
organs be allowed? Should cloning of human beings be
allowed? What kinds of restrictions should be placed on
cloning technologies?
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Your job in this WebQuest is to form an opinion as to
whether human cloning should be allowed. You will learn what
cloning is and how clones are made. You will research the
ethical arguments both for, and against, human cloning. You
will find out if there are any laws regarding the cloning of
humans and what those laws state. You will identify some of
the moral issues that accompany the cloning of human beings.
Finally, you will form an opinion as to whether human
cloning should be allowed.
Once you have done your research, you will write a set of
ethical standards that you think should be used to govern
the use of cloning technologies. Then you will prepare a set
of ten questions that relate to your standards and use these
questions on a survey form. You will interview at least ten
people and ask them to complete the survey. Finally, you
will compile the survey results and compare these results to
your standards. How do your ethical standards compare to the
survey results?
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Look at the web sites given here to find the information
that will enable you to form your opinion about human
cloning.
What is cloning?
- What
is a clone?
At this WorldBook.com site you can
read about what a clone is and the different types of
clones.
- The
Mammal Copiers - Advances in Cloning.
At this
Australian Academy of Science site you can read about the
cloning of plants and about asexual reproduction in
general. Scroll down to learn how Dolly the sheep was
cloned and the position the Academy has taken on human
cloning.
How are clones made?
- Cloning
1-2-3: Making a Ewe.
Visit this site to learn
more about the sheep named Dolly, the first mammal to be
cloned, and cloning techniques.
- Conceiving
a Clone.
Go to this site to learn more about
cloning and to read a discussion about the ethics of
cloning.
What are some of the legal issues involved in cloning
of humans?
What are some of the moral and ethical concerns about
cloning?
- Ethical
Concerns. Visit this Worldbook.com site to learn
about some of the ethical concerns inherent in cloning,
especially cloning of human beings.
- The
Cloning Debate.
Go to this article by the
Washington Post online to read about the debate over
cloning. You can vote in a survey here on whether the
United States should ban human cloning. Click on featured
story to see other reports on cloning.
- Human
Cloning: Introduction.
At this
site, scroll down to find out what cloning is, the history
of cloning, and how it is done. You may also read about
the moral issues involved with cloning here.
- Human
Cloning.
This site has an introductory article
on human cloning, videos about cloning, and lists of
reasons both for and against human cloning. It includes
resources for students who are researching human cloning.
- Executive
Summary: Cloning Human Beings.
Go to this site
to read the results of the National Bioethics Advisory
Commission's attempt to address the ethical and legal
issues that surround human cloning.
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3 class periods for research; about two weeks at home to
write, give, and compile survey results
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Now that you have completed your research on the
Internet, form your own opinion about whether or not human
cloning should be allowed. Should all kinds of cloning be
allowed? If cloning is allowed, should there be any
restrictions on what it is used for? Should any kind of
cloning be banned altogether? Write a short list of the
ethical standards that you think should be used to determine
the parameters of cloning technology. Prepare a set of ten
questions based on your standards and use these questions to
survey your friends, family members, or teachers and
classmates to find their opinions about human cloning.
Compare your survey results with your own opinion.
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In the process of completing this WebQuest, you have
become informed about a topic that is in the news almost
daily. Cloning is a topic that is the focus of heated
debates among scientists, theologians, and legislators as
well as the general public. Your research has shown you that
there are legitimate concerns on more than one side of this
issue. You have successfully gathered information, analyzed
it critically, and formulated a position on a complex
science issue. How does your opinion compare to those found
in your research? How does your opinion compare to those
people who completed your survey?
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