Engineers have devoted their time and efforts in making great technological advancements for the human race. They have proposed many options and ideas in making the world a great place to live in. The engineers of the 21st Century will follow in the same path. The engineering community must think about change and plan for the coming century.
Change is a continual process that must be woven into the very fabric of our engineering and scientific endeavors. If they are to successfully meet the challenges of the 21st Century, it is crucial that they keep their finger on the pulse of ever-changing technologies. One major issue that is to be dealt with is human cloning. Human cloning got underway with the successful cloning of the sheep “Dolly” in 1997. It became evident that sooner or later, scientists might be able to clone human beings, too.
In order to clone a human being scientist must read and map the Human Genetic Code. Humans have 46 chromosomes. Every cell in the body has its own edition of the complete 3 billion-letter code. Reading it, however, is much more difficult than reading a linear text, because placements and relationships along the text line combine to form other unknown levels of coded information and instruction. Cloning is a very intricate process and it requires special equipment and modern technology. To begin, a cell is removed from the organism that is going to be replicated, also known as the donor.
The cell is extracted by an incision in the skin, a sample of blood or even a piece of the actual skin. Next, the second reproductive cell is taken from the female organism. The entire DNA is removed from the nucleus. A small amount of DNA is also removed from the donors cell nucleus. Genetic engineers insert the cells into the female and later the female will give birth to a baby that was not naturally conceived. The cells are inserted by needle to the uterus and take on the natural process of splitting into two cells.
However, this process can not be done because reading and mapping the human genetic code has proven to be impossible. If the engineers of the 21st Century can come up with a way to map and read the DNA of a human then the human cloning process can be completed. The process of cloning would inevitably invite the use of other genetic technologies, specifically genetic manipulation of cloned embryos, and this could result in permanent, heritable changes to the human gene pool. Genetic engineers along with other would be playing a major role in the cloning of humans in the 21st Century. Huge amounts of money are at stake in human cloning research. Overall, the process of human cloning has its pros and cons.
Many say that human cloning can help people, while others say it spoils the human identity. Whatever the opinion, one thing is for sure; science of the 21st century will forge ahead, with engineers leading us farther and farther into discovering the very essence of man.Bibliography:
