Harvard scientists have recently announced that they have the technology to clone a Neanderthal. All they need is a women willing enough to give birth to the baby. It is possible but so far, there has been many hang-ups with safety and ethical issues. Through studying Neanderthal fossils, the scientists were able to find enough DNA to create an embryo that could be placed in a human subject. Geneticist George Church people could really learn something from Neanderthals. Neanderthals had enlarged craniums. This suggests they could have had a different thought process than us humans. Church says that Neanderthals' genetics would be much different than humans.
The problem Church sees is that this neanderthal clone would have to live in a lab. Even if they did not, this clone would be like Frankenstein. The monster was the only one in the world so he struggled to find his true identity. This would most likely happen to the clone. Another problem it could face would be the question over whether it would be too aggressive for this modern world. The Neanderthal were known to be quite the aggressive people. Another problem the clone could face would be a disease that was not around when it was alive. This could be just like the Native Americans being introduced to smallpox by the Europeans. The hardest challenge the Harvard scientist will face is the fact that the U.N. banned human cloning in 2005. But can the neanderthal be considered a human? Scientist aren't completely sure. Neanderthals can either be classified as a sub-species of Homo Sapiens (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or a different species of the same genus (Homo neanderthalensis). One of the safety issue scientist see is the fact that they could put the DNA from the bone together incorrectly. If one letter is off it could be fatal. Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at the NYU Center for Bioethics, sees another problem. The possibility of many Neanderthal stillborns or Neanderthals born with extreme disabilities before a healthy Neanderthal baby is very, very likely.
Their are many things I see that I find very unethical. First is the fact that I think cloning is general will lead to many bad things down the road. Neanderthals are known to have been stronger than humans. If the technology were to get into the wrong hands, technically someone could create an army of strong Neanderthals. This could be problematic. Another thing I see is that I believe that only God can create life. This topic is against my religion along with many others. This does make me biased to the topic. When reading this article, I tried to be as unbiased as possible. Another thing I see wrong and could be a problem is what Caplan said at the end of the article. He stated that there could be many problems with births and newborns before a healthy clone is born. This means many women would have to give birth to this baby. It is possible that they could even die from the pregnancy. Overall, I think this is a very touchy subject and it will be interesting to see where this story goes.
Harvard scientists have recently announced that they have the technology to clone a Neanderthal. All they need is a women willing enough to give birth to the baby. It is possible but so far, there has been many hang-ups with safety and ethical issues. Through studying Neanderthal fossils, the scientists were able to find enough DNA to create an embryo that could be placed in a human subject. Geneticist George Church people could really learn something from Neanderthals. Neanderthals had enlarged craniums. This suggests they could have had a different thought process than us humans. Church says that Neanderthals' genetics would be much different than humans.
The problem Church sees is that this neanderthal clone would have to live in a lab. Even if they did not, this clone would be like Frankenstein. The monster was the only one in the world so he struggled to find his true identity. This would most likely happen to the clone. Another problem it could face would be the question over whether it would be too aggressive for this modern world. The Neanderthal were known to be quite the aggressive people. Another problem the clone could face would be a disease that was not around when it was alive. This could be just like the Native Americans being introduced to smallpox by the Europeans. The hardest challenge the Harvard scientist will face is the fact that the U.N. banned human cloning in 2005. But can the neanderthal be considered a human? Scientist aren't completely sure. Neanderthals can either be classified as a sub-species of Homo Sapiens (Homo sapiens neanderthalensis) or a different species of the same genus (Homo neanderthalensis). One of the safety issue scientist see is the fact that they could put the DNA from the bone together incorrectly. If one letter is off it could be fatal. Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at the NYU Center for Bioethics, sees another problem. The possibility of many Neanderthal stillborns or Neanderthals born with extreme disabilities before a healthy Neanderthal baby is very, very likely.
C - Reflective
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Final Grade (You may remove this comment at your discretion): Reflective +
To improve: Great article Leo!