Human Cloning For the past few decades, cloning has been a fictional idea lying in the pages of science fiction novels and films. The very idea that cloning could one day become a reality was deemed scientifically impossible by many experts. But on February 22, 1997, what was thought to be purely science fiction became reality. That day, a team from the Roslin Institute, led by Dr. Ian Wilmut, changed history forever by revealing what looked like an ordinary sheep. And her name was Dolly. Dolly has become one of the most famous, if not the most famous, sheep of today. She was the first ever clone of a mammal. It was an exact carbon copy, a laboratory counterfeit of his mother. This news shocked the world because Dolly was the key to many new and prosperous possibilities (DeMuth 8). But Dolly wasn't the first clone ever. Before her, more limited cloning had already been carried out. Creatures such as mice, frogs and salamanders were being cloned as early as the 1950s. This procedure involved destroying the nucleus inside the egg cell. Then a new donor cell would be brought and injected into the egg as a replacement. From the egg, offspring would then develop with the same genetic heritage as the donor. Later, in the 1970s, a new technique was developed. This technique involved transferring genes from one organism to another by combining the DNA of a plant or animal cell with the DNA of bacteria. This cloning technique has enabled the growth of many endocrine system treatments such as hormones, insulin, and interferon (Robinson 300). In 1993, researchers at George Washington University Medical Center cloned cells from human embryos. This was accomplished using DNA technique,......center of paper......quality. Clearly the issue is not simple. The cloning debate has only just begun, and activists believe this issue may represent the greatest ethical concern of the 21st century. Cloning could change humanity as we know it. So what should be done? Which side of the debate is stronger? On the one hand, this could save and even reincarnate human lives! But on the other hand it could also devalue and harm human lives. Currently the technology is not fully developed. A few weeks after the birth of Dolly the sheep, President Clinton pushed for legislation to ban human cloning until the scientific facts were clear and the ethical consequences widely discussed (DeMuth 18). While I believe this was the right step to take and showed remarkable restraint, I don't think science will wait for society to clear up their feelings and move on if they haven't already done so...