The discovery of the possibility of cloning living organisms is undoubtedly one of the greatest achievements of modern science. But how can it benefit us in practice? It is possible that if researchers really learn to clone people in droves, the world will change forever. And it's not a fact that for the better …
According to the British biologist and Nobel Prize-2012 winner in medicine John Gurdon, it will take no more than half a century to successfully clone a person. It's not that long. First of all, cloning will be able to help people who have lost their loved ones, primarily children. In order to obtain a "double" of the deceased, all you need is a flap of his skin and a female egg. But does this make sense?
It was thanks to the labors of Gurdon that the famous Dolly the sheep was once successfully cloned. However, American biologists Rudolph Jenish and Ryuzo Yanagimachi have come to the conclusion that every single clone created to date has genetic defects.
In particular, they have disrupted the on-off mechanism of individual genes. That is why cloned animals tend to have reduced immunity. Researchers at the Tokyo National Institute of Infectious Diseases conducted a study in mice. At the same time, they selected experimental individuals born by cloning, and 12 naturally born mice. 10 clones did not live for 800 days. But out of ordinary mice during this time, only one died.
The cause of death was mainly lung and liver diseases. The cloned animals' immune systems were unable to produce enough antibodies needed to fight infections.
When it comes to cloning people, the consequences can be even more dire. Thus, Vyacheslav Tarantul, deputy director of the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, stated that all cloned individuals obtained so far in 99% of cases suffer from various developmental anomalies. Before the notorious Dolly the sheep was born, 300 embryos were transplanted, but all of them either died or were born defective.
Dolly, however, over time showed numerous diseases, as well as signs of early aging. According to V. Tarantula, a cloned person can physically turn into an old man by the age of 30. And according to Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Lev Kiselev, "the efficiency of the cloning technique is 2-3%, that is, out of 200-300 women who carry a clone, only one has a chance to endure a more or less full-fledged embryo."
Promotional video:
Who needs cloned children?
But suppose the problem of defects is solved. Then the question arises: how justified is the cloning procedure from the point of view of ethics? According to Gurdon, seeing the results with his own eyes, society will begin to treat cloning more tolerant.
Professor Gurdon even conducted a survey among his students. When asked whether it is worth cloning a child in the event of his death, 60% of the respondents answered yes, but only at the request of the parents of the deceased.
However, most researchers believe that in nature there can be no two completely identical individuals, even with the same genes. Yes, cloning will make the copy look similar to the original, but the intrinsic features can be very different.
Moreover, the double will not have the memory of the original. In a word, it will be a completely different person, which can cause a stressful situation for those who have resorted to the procedure …
Meanwhile, some opponents of cloning fear, having received a “double” at their disposal, relatives will seek to make it as close as possible to the original, for example, to impose on it the habits and tastes of the “predecessor”, thereby violating the “copy's” right to self-determination. So, of course, it is worth thinking carefully before embarking on such an adventure.
Substitute cells
There is another side to cloning. Ever since it became possible, there has been a debate about the ethics of using clones for organ transplantation. Recently, scientists at Oregon Health and Science University obtained the first full-fledged human embryo in the laboratory. Such embryos are supposed to be used for stem cell production.
This requires a skin sample from the original as well as an egg donor from a healthy woman. DNA is removed from the egg, after which one of the skin cells is injected into it. After that, an electric discharge is applied to the cell, which is why it begins to divide. Within six days, an embryo develops from it, from which stem cells can be taken for implantation.
According to scientists, with the help of such technologies it will be possible to treat such serious ailments as Alzheimer's disease, various brain pathologies and multiple sclerosis.
“Our discovery makes it possible to grow stem cells for patients with serious diseases and organ damage,” said one of the authors of the development, Dr. Shukharat Mitalipov. “Of course, there is still a lot to be done before a safe and reliable stem cell therapy emerges. But our work is a confident step towards regenerative medicine.
Until recently, a surrogate mother was required to carry a cloned embryo. It will now be possible to obtain clones in the laboratory without the participation of female volunteers.
Slaughter candidates
Meanwhile, many see the next discovery as a threat to humanity. Rather, the prospect for illegal and uncontrolled cloning of people.
Cloning is a slippery topic. If clones are born artificially, can they be considered human? Recently, a lot of science fiction books and films have appeared, the plots of which describe the discrimination of clones, as well as their use for organ transplants.
Organ transplantation has always been a problem as it is difficult to find a suitable donor.
With a whole army of clones raised specifically for donation purposes, the chances of people getting healthy organs instead of sick ones would increase dramatically. Especially if these organs were taken from their completely identical counterparts. Over time, even injured limbs or, say, eyes could be transplanted … But what about the clones themselves?
So far, we are talking only about embryos, from which it is not planned to grow real people. But in principle they could be. Another option: to grow clones with defective brains - such as it seems, do not mind … But, again, how ethical is it? The hero of Nancy Farmer's book "House of the Scorpion", a clone of a large drug lord, unlike his "brothers" in misfortune, is kept sane. But he manages to save his life only by a miracle …
Shot from the film "The Island" (2005)
The fantastic picture "The Island" depicts the society of the future, where there are entire settlements of clone-people, which are grown only in order to subsequently receive organs from them … And in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "Don't Let Me Go" and the film of the same name, clones are taught in special schools. from childhood, accustoming them to the idea that sooner or later they will become donors and donate their organs in order to save the lives of other people, so that almost none of them will survive to the age of thirty.
It would seem that in reality such a scenario is simply impossible: no country in the world will legalize the killing of living people for medical purposes! But who knows … After all, the prospects that cloning opens up are quite tempting. And why not sacrifice an underdeveloped "copy" in order to save the life of, say, a famous scientist, artist, or politician? The more global the scale, the less valuable the clone's life will seem …
But even if the use of clones as organ donors is banned, where is the guarantee that this will not be done illegally? After all, people who have money will be able to afford and maintain perfectly equipped secret laboratories, and pay the best doctors, and shut up whoever needs it. It is possible that donor cloning will generally turn into an underground business and will be available to everyone who has connections and who can afford it.
Science is developing rapidly, and the world, whether we like it or not, will never be the same again. Therefore, research related to cloning will continue. But where they will lead humanity - this is a mystery covered in darkness …
Ida SHAKHOVSKAYA
"Secrets of the XX century" July 2013