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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