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The perfect copy

Scientists have announced that they have cloned the first human embryo.This has caused much debate round the world.On the one hand, some scientists point out that if you clone an embryo, you can produce valuable human tiues----such as bone or lung tiue----that could be used to save human lives.On the other hand, many people, including some scientists, disagree and are afraid that, if mankind toys with nature in this way, we may be on our way to producing a real-life Frankenstein’s monster.Cloning is producing an exact copy of a plant or an animal using its cells.The first mammal to be cloned succefully from an adult cell was Dolly the sheep.She was born in 1996 and died in early 2003, at a much younger age than normal.When she was born, many people were worried that cloning would lead to more diseases in animal world.However, in general the scientists were praised for their wonderful scientific advance.Ian Wilmut, the Scottish scientist who created Dolly, is shocked that some scientists are now considering cloning human beings.Although he researches cloning, his intention has never been to create copies of humans.Instead, he thinks research efforts should concentrate on creating new tiues and organs that can be used to cure diseases like cancer.However, some people believe that cloning human embryos with the intention of destroying them shows no respect for human life.Even though human cloning is causing a lot of anxiety, it is good news for Faye Wilson, a 41-year-old saleswoman who cannot have a baby.“I am anxious to have a child of my own,” she says.“I don’t want to adopt someone else’s child----if I had the chance, I would have a cloned baby right now.”

While cloning human embryos is not legal in many countries, some scientists are already pushing ahead with research in order to produce a cloned human baby.Severino Antinori, an Italian physician, has declared that he wants to be the first to clone a human being.In China, scientists have focused their efforts on cloning animals, as well as cloned tiues to be used in medical treatment.China has succeeded in producing clones of cows and goats, and continues to research ways in which cloning can benefit mankind.Dear Editor

I believe that human cloning is wrong.If we toy with nature, we will have to deal with the consequences.Who knows what could happen? Human life would just become a crop to be harvested or a product for sale.The human race is using up the Earth’s natural wealth.We should be having fewer babies in order to reduce the Earth’s population, not cloning more.I feel sorry for the lady who cannot have a baby, but I would like to point out that there are man children in the world with no parents who would be delighted to have a mother.Pauline carter

Dear Editor

I would like to comment on your article, “The perfect copy”.I think the scientific advances mentioned in your article are fantastic!I am in complete agreement with human

cloning.After all, scientists have been challenging moral ideas for centuries.Why should we stop them now?

On a personal note, cloning would totally transform my life, seven years ago, my 10-year-old daughter died of heart failure.She was beautiful, cheerful and bright.I mi her every single day.If I had the chance, I would clone her immediately so that I could be with her again.Colin Jake

Project Having a debate

Man and nature

For a long time, our environment has been damaged because humans have been carele.People have harmed nature through agriculture, fishing, hunting and tourism.We further damage the Earth by building new channels in the sea and factories on the land, and by creating pollution with chemical waste.We will some day destroy the planet we live on if we continue in this way.However, if we focus only on conservation, then people may suffer.Not everything that is best for nature is good for people.Would anyone say that development should be stopped in favor of nature? From the point of view of some people, we are only doing what humans have always done, using nature to meet our own needs.Other people argue that such thinking may cause a catastrophe, unle we start to look around and understand how a clean environment benefits us all.After decades of destroying nature and using up natural resources, many developed nations are now concerned about saving nature rather than developing or destroying it.However, many poorer nations must focus on meeting the everyday needs of their people.In doing so, they are using up natural resources at a fast pace.They have not yet seen the effects of the carele use of the environment like many wealthy nations have.Often they do not realize that the choices they make are bad for the environment.Should they be blamed for destroying hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest if it means a better income for their people? The developed and developing countries of the world need to work together to make sure that people enjoy healthy and happy lives, without the environment around them suffering.It should not be a question of humans winning and nature losing.Humans can only really win by protecting nature.After all, food has to be produced in a healthy, natural system, and we all need clean air to breathe and pure water to drink.It is mankind’s responsibility to find answers that good for everyone, and everything.GM food: hope or danger?

In recent years, there has been great progre in the study of genetics.With this progre,doors have been opened up to technologies that never existed before.While many people are excited about these new technologies, these same technologies frighten others.Nowhere is this truer than with genetically modified(GM)food.There are two ways in which a plant or an animal can be genetically modified.First, new material can be inserted into its DNA to give the plant or animal qualities which it would never have in nature.Second, material can be taken from the DNA of a plant or an animal in order to remove qualities which are not desired.One aim of GM research is to produce food which will make us healthier.So far, this technology has been used to produce plants which are better able to defend themselves against pests and disease.Supporters of GM food argue that GM plants are healthier and have larger harvests.While there has been research in GM animals such as pigs, no GM meat is being sold at present.Many questions have been raised about GM food.No one really knows whether it is safe for animals or humans to eat.Scientists admit that more tests should be done on GM food.Research has been limited to increasing production profits, rather than making sure that GM foods are safe.GM food could therefore be dangerous to eat.There is also a question as to whether GM plants are safe for the environment.Since GM crops are planted outside, they are of the food chain----insects and other animals eat them or use their products, and these insects and animals will be eaten by yet other animals.No one knows what effects the GM material might have on the food chain.Since no one really knows whether GM food is safe, many countries have hesitated to give permiion for the production of GM foods, as they would rather be cautious with this new technology.