Cloning crop plants in tissue culture

What it involves A tissue sample is removed from the parent plant and sterilised to prevent contamination. The tissue is broken down into individual cells. The cell walls are removed and the cells are now called protoplasts. The cells are added to a test tube or and agar plate that provides the cells with nutrients and auxins to grow. When they are big enough, the clones can be transferred into compost, where they will continue to grow normally. Social advantages and disadvantages We could grow a large number of plants in a short period of time. This would make the plants stronger and have more chances of surviving. Then we could be able to control the growth and development of the plant, so we can produce the plants in any sort fo weather. It will also produce more food for people. The diversity or variation of plants would decrease because they will only clone those with desirable traits. Also, many people prefer organic food, not genetically engineered food. Economic advantages and disadvantages There will be more commerce for the country as they can sell more plants. Higher income for the farmer as there wont be an economic loss from failed crops. More jobs will be created in genetic engineering and this will generate more money and more tax revenue for the country. However, the cost to clone the plants and the procedure would be very high, it would take a long time to make a profit from cloning the plants. Ethical issues Many people believe that you shouldnt mess around with nature, selecting desirable traits in crops will affect many ecosystems and some plants might increase or decrease in number. They would become resistant to their natural enemies which control their numbers and this could affect many animals that eat the plants.

Cloning and transplanting cattle embryos

What it involves Cattle reproduce sexually, so sperm is taken from the best bull and used to fertilise the best cow. The best will be the ones that have the most meat or produce a lot of milk; they are looking for desirable traits. The egg then divides to form an embryo and the embryo is divided into cells to create even more embryos. Each embryo contains the same genes that we wanted. The embryos are then implanted into surrogate cows. They give birth to calves which are all clones of each other. Social advantages and disadvantages Mass amounts of animal reproduced. Stem cells in the embryos can be used as a treatment for human illnesses. More animals with desirable traits can be reproduced. The animals that have been reproduced in this way can be used as a supply of organs for humans. Scientists could use this technology to help endangered species. Diseases could be spread if cow is not checked properly, eventually weakening the animals that are part of the cloning process because they have the same genetic makeup. Economic advantage and disadvantages You can mass produce large amounts of beef and milk which generates more money for the farmer and we have more food. However, if problems occur with the cloning process then a lot of money would be lost quickly. Ethical Issues The cloned population will all have the same genes, so the gene pool is very, very small. Populations with small gene pools are at risk of being wiped out. We need to save the animals!!!

Cloning human body parts for transplant

What it involves First there is a Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. This process would involve taking a donor egg, and removing its nucleus (using enzymes). This would be replaced by a cell nucleus from the patient. It starts to divide and the stem cells are harvested. Stem cells are capable of forming any kind of tissue including organs. These would be grown on to form the required organ, and then transplanted. Social advantages and disadvantages Instead of losing a limb, one could have it replaced if it were cloned. Rather than heart and lung transplants and being on drugs the rest of your life, you could have your own transplanted and do without the drugs! There would be no shortage of organs for transplant, and there would be great strides in medicine, meaning better health and longer life expectancy, better quality of life. However, many people would probably be against it because of its ethical issues. Economic advantages and disadvantages The procedure would cost thousands of pounds and the government would have to invest in training doctors to do these sort of procedures. Insurance companies would raise rates because of the cost of the procedure. The NHS could save money as we can help people once by giving them a new organ so they wont waste vital resources and be hospitalized for months. Ethical Issues The main ethical issue with cloning body parts for transplant is that certain people will eventually be the ones sought after for their cells. This messes with natural selection. Also, stem cells are required to do this. The main source of stem cells is from human embryos, which are killed in the process.

Cloning a human completely

What it involves It hasnt been done yet but its a bit like cloning the cattle Social advantages and disadvantages The advantages are that couples that can't have children might be able to get one. Clones might not have the same personality, they might not want to be our friend and take over the world. Economic advantages and disadvantages No advantages. More people means more resources need to be shared meaning less money and all the money is wasted on making them in the first place. Ethical Issues People are afraid that one might want to clone a dead person; they can use it to commit crimes and haunt people. The rich will start buying children with certain attributes so social inequalities will increase. They might not have a personality or feelings or they might be messed up, we cant just get rid of them how will they live among us? Then theyll be angry and kill people.