OK, whether or not you asked for it, you got it. The first human embryo just got cloned. Soooo ... what's the consensus of opinion on this baby (so to speak)?

Not having a scientific mind, the only opinion I've come up with so far is, "Oy veh!"

having been away from the news for days, i haven't really read too much yet, but my initial reaction is..this doesn't seem like a good road to be going down.

I think it's a great avenue...I don't really see the nonscence of cloning (for the use of stem-cell).And don't really know the science behind it all. But if it's for saving lives, I'm all for it!!!

*HOWEVER insensitve this might sound...Seems like the country should have plenty of product for stem-cell (with the high rate of abortion)

**I wonder how anti-abortion people would feel, if ultimately, stem-cell research SAVED they're child's life....SOMTHIN to think about!!!!?

***or improves the quality of life for old people, by making them healthier? maybe not in MY life-time...

****nowadays, they do 2 liver transpants with 1 liver (child & adult)...A decade ago, this was thought immpossible!

The topic probably belongs on the Frank Zappa board anyway. <img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/privateeyes.gif" width=15 height=15>

i believe in the striving for greater knowledge, however, given what we do, with our knowledge, to the global environment, I'm not sure we should be playing, in the genetic cooky jar, just yet

It's so surreal...I just don't know what to think. Not yet, anyway...

Dr. Robin Cook explained in interview, the jest of what happens. (far, from what I imagined).. remember 'Cook' author of 70's "Coma".???

*apparently this cloning is a group of cells. NOT considered an embryo. And the big assett (ditching used fetus's hypothesis) is they would be used on same patient...Taking away the 'risk' of regection...

Imagine having organ transplants, without the life-long burdon of anti-rejection drugs.

*Cutting edge stuff....

I'm for the research continuing, at least in the way they say they're doing it. As best I can tell, it really is all about saving lives, making your own transplants from you.

At the same time, I'm glad it's being questioned. Both the science and the social questions need to be pursued rigorously.

Typical Piscean response, you say? Going two directions at once--that's me! Almost as bad as a Libra!

Ceashel, I'm a Libran & I'm descisive...well except when the issues require more study, then judgement should be reserved, unless moral imperatives dictate, but, still, one should follow 1st instincts, except when......

Of course, having Mercury conjunct Neptune in Libra 3rd house has no bearing whatsoever on why I asked this question, or why I asked it in a joint like this ... Naturally.

Thanks for confirming that, Bump. I figured you for a Libra. (I live in a house with two Libras; I know things. ... )

At the risk of sounding like someone else, I've got diabetes, my mom died of Alzheimer's, and my dad has multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's, but other than that, I have no apparent reason to be in favor of cloning and genetic research. (Note; it's okay; I have not added and now cannot add to the gene pool.)

I'm sorry, but I just can't buy the argument that we should leave an area of science alone because we're "not ready." It is our responsibility to become ready, even if it's after the genie is out of the bottle. This will not go away. (Corduroy sounds....)<img src="http://www.arlo.net/ubb/smilies/alien1.gif" width=25 height=16>

Edited to add this from cnn.com:
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>
The technique used by the company, Advanced Cell Technology, is called "somatic cell nuclear transfer." During the procedure, a cell from one person's body is combined with a human egg that has had its DNA removed. The DNA from the one cell is reprogrammed during the process, allowing the creation of human stem cells.

Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, speaks during a news conference on human cloning Tuesday.  

"Somatic cell nuclear transfer does not relate to cloning, and the people who call it therapeutic cloning are creating a lot of confusion, because it is not cloning at all, and it certainly is not reproductive cloning," Specter said.

Rather, Specter and others have argued that such creations could become reliable sources of stem cells -- basic cells that could be manipulated in laboratories to form a variety of human tissues. Supporters of ongoing stem cell research -- which is controversial enough on its own because some existing stem cell lines were created from cells extracted from aborted fetuses -- say the field of study holds the promise of reversing or even curing many diseases.

But critics of human cloning and stem cell extraction methods essentially believe a human egg that begins to divide for any reason should be considered an embryo, and a potential person, that deserves protection under the law. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

<center><FONT COLOR="#000080">--- Edited 1 times, lastly by Ceashel on Nov 28, 2001 ---</FONT></center>

Naw Ceashel, we do like to learn "stuff" about others. And, when the stuff fits in the post...well, then it fits in the post.

I'll definately say the whole cloning thing makes me....well, nervous, I guess. I'm all for medical research to cure these truly horrible diseases. And as long as the cloned tissue is really just tissue, no problem. But we've seen before this is a question we have trouble answering - where does human life begin?

Maybe I've just read too many science fiction/horror novels. I just worry about going that step too far.

speaking of cloning, a fiend of mine did this reading & said "you are a wierd duck", I'll just put it out here, so, maybe others can interpret it, for me

born sep 27th, 4;03 pm...

sun...........Libra
moon..........Libra
mercury.......Libra
venus.........scorpio
mars..........scorpio
jupiter.......leo
uranus........gemini
neptune.......Libra
pluto.........leo
Joe Garagiolla was catching, for St Louis Cadinals, on the day I was born, too

ooops, forgot, sep 27th, 1946, Pasadena CA,,, before cloning, thermo-fax and carbon copying were the main means, of artificial reproduction, then, I think