Clones Among Us? | FerrariChat

Clones Among Us?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by SMS, Nov 21, 2008.

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  1. SMS

    SMS F1 Veteran

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    Think there is any possibility of human clones yet? It's been 7 years or so since Dolly. In theory there could be some toddlers around. I remeber a French firm vowing to press on in the field. I suppose civil science might be afraid to cross that line, but there are many sinister people and regimes in the world. Just thinking....
     
  2. ZUL8TR

    ZUL8TR Formula 3

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    Bill...talk to one of your clones that just had this dicussion on another site. It got bored with the conversation there. LOL!

    I'm really starting to feel like a stalker. Must ignore...must ignore... ;)
     
  3. SMS

    SMS F1 Veteran

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    LOL. There it was 3 of us. Here there are 10k members. Gotta be a conspiracy theory sci-fi kook somewhere. ;)
     
  4. ZUL8TR

    ZUL8TR Formula 3

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    Good point...going into Lurker mode for now. ;)
     
  5. SefacHotRodder

    SefacHotRodder F1 World Champ

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    Lol
     
  6. JDMz32

    JDMz32 Rookie

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    30
    GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED HUMANS HAVE ALREADY BEEN BORN
    The earthshaking news appeared in the medical journal Human Reproduction under the
    impenetrable headline: "Mitochondria in Human Offspring Derived From Ooplasmic
    Transplantation." The media put the story in heavy rotation for one day, then forgot about it. We
    all forgot about it.
    But the fact remains that the world is now populated by dozens of children who were genetically
    engineered. It still sounds like science fiction, yet it's true.
    In the first known application of germline gene therapy — in which an individual's genes are
    changed in a way that can be passed to offspring — doctors at a reproductive facility in New
    Jersey announced in March 2001 that nearly 30 healthy babies had been born with DNA from
    three people: dad, mom, and a second woman. Fifteen were the product of the fertility clinic,
    with the other fifteen or so coming from elsewhere.
    The doctors believe that one cause for failure of women to conceive is that their ova contain old
    mitochondria (if you don't remember your high school biology class, mitochondria are the part of
    cells that provides energy). These sluggish eggs fail to attach to the uterine wall when fertilized.
    In order to soup them up, scientists injected them with mitochondria from a younger woman.
    Since mitochondria contain DNA, the kids have the genetic material of all three parties. The
    DNA from the "other woman" can even be passed down along the female line.
    The big problem is that no one knows what effects this will have on the children or their
    progeny. In fact, this substitution of mitochondria hasn't been studied extensively on animals,
    never mind homo sapiens. The doctors reported that the kids are healthy, but they neglected to
    mention something crucial. Although the fertility clinic's technique resulted in fifteen babies, a
    total of seventeen fetuses had been created. One of them had been aborted, and the other
    miscarried. Why? Both of them had a rare genetic disorder, Turner syndrome, which only strikes
    females. Ordinarily, just one in 2,500 females is born with this condition, in which one of the X
    chromo-somes is incomplete or totally missing. Yet two out of these seventeen fetuses had
    developed it.
    If we assume that nine of the fetuses were female (around 50 percent), then two of the nine
    female fetuses had this rare condition. Internal documents from the fertility clinic admit that this
    amazingly high rate might be due to the ooplasmic transfer.
    Even before the revelation about Turner syndrome became known, many experts were appalled
    that the technique had been used. A responding article in Human Reproduction said, in a dry
    understatement: "Neither the safety nor efficacy of this method has been adequately
    investigated." Ruth Deech, chair of Britain's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority,
    told the BBC: "There is a risk, not just to the baby, but to future generations which we really
    can't assess at the moment."
     
  7. SMS

    SMS F1 Veteran

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    We are soooo screwed.
     
  8. WJHMH

    WJHMH Two Time F1 World Champ Silver Subscribed

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    Better send in the Blade Runners.
     
  9. WILLIAM H

    WILLIAM H Three Time F1 World Champ

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    I have no doubt there is a clinic in Russia or China or elsewhere that has at least attempted cloning humans

    whether or not they suceeded probably wont be confirmed for decades
     
  10. GuyIncognito

    GuyIncognito Nine Time F1 World Champ Silver Subscribed

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    agreed
     
  11. wax

    wax Five Time F1 World Champ Lifetime Rossa

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    Trust me on this one - Southern California Subforum has had most clones.
     
  12. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ Owner

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  13. Etcetera

    Etcetera Two Time F1 World Champ Silver Subscribed

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    tsk!
     
  14. snj5

    snj5 F1 World Champ

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  15. 2NA

    2NA F1 World Champ Consultant Owner Professional Ferrari Technician

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  16. Webby

    Webby F1 Veteran

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  17. bonedoc

    bonedoc Karting

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    One problem that they have with cloning is age. If an animal live to be 30 years old, and the animal is cloned at 20 years old, the offspring will only live ten years.

    The end of genes have telomeres. Each time a cell divides, the telomere shortens. Once it reaches a point, that cell will never divide again. So, we do have a biological clock. Bringing a cloned person into the world may not be responsible until they can figure out this mechanism.

    On the other hand, if a cell divides uncontrollably, then cancer occurs. That is another problem.

    Some people believe that mitochondria were a separate organism that formed a symbiotic relationship with cells, because they have there own DNA. Pretty interesting.
     
  18. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ Owner

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    A "problem" specifically induced (with a four year lifespan) on the Nexus-6 series.

    But seriously, that's pretty fascinating.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2008
  19. SMS

    SMS F1 Veteran

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    YIKES!!!!
    I just got around to seeing that link. WHAT ARE THOSE LITTLE THINGS???? Somptin aint right.
     
  20. UroTrash

    UroTrash Four Time F1 World Champ Consultant Owner

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    Not to mention all the small mutations that accumulate.
     

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