Cloning...

[Booze Zombie]

A simple question, do you think cloning will be useful?
For me, yes I think cloning will be useful. See, I've got terrible tooth damage and if someone could clone me a new pair, rip out my old ones and transplant the new ones, I'd take them in a heartbeat.

Same with losing an arm or an eye, just grow one (check it against medical records and make sure it's all healthy) and replace the broken bit.
Note: I don't support the growing of sentient clones, just body parts.

I doubt everyone will think it'll be this simple, though.
So, let's hear your opinions!

 

[CactiComplex]

If you look at it in black and white like that, then yeah, it'd be useful. On the other hand, a clone would essentially be a sentient copy of yourself, therefore a human being and subject to human rights, right? That would make things a little more complicated. I suppose the first question would be whether or not a clone actually is human, and whether or not using them for body parts is humane.

 

[Disaster Button]

My only problem is that I don't want a sentient clone to exist just to be harvested. Only cloning seperate parts would be fine by me.

 

[Booze Zombie]

If you look at it in black and white like that, then yeah, it'd be useful. On the other hand, a clone would essentially be a sentient copy of yourself, therefore a human being and subject to human rights, right? That would make things a little more complicated. I suppose the first question would be whether or not a clone actually is human, and whether or not using them for body parts is humane.

I meant specifically cloning the body parts, not growing a whole sentient being.

My only problem is that I don't want a sentient clone to exist just to be harvested. Only cloning seperate parts would be fine by me.

I should probably clarify that I mean that in the OP.

 

[Erana]

Why do people question whether a close is a person or not? Why do clones in fiction always have existential crises over not being the, "Original"? I mean, if I were a clone, how would I not be human, or me, but also with me over there being me at the same time?

 

[ninja555]

Cloning would be a great help for the medical world. Need a new liver? We'll clone one for you. Ditto other body parts. As for cloning a full person, hell yeah! The world could always use another me.

 

[CactiComplex]

I meant specifically cloning the body parts, not growing a whole sentient being.

Ah, then yeah, I'd say that would be useful so long as you didn't have any hereditary conditions etc that would be cloned as well.

 

[spartan231490]

If you look at it in black and white like that, then yeah, it'd be useful. On the other hand, a clone would essentially be a sentient copy of yourself, therefore a human being and subject to human rights, right? That would make things a little more complicated. I suppose the first question would be whether or not a clone actually is human, and whether or not using them for body parts is humane.

You can clone parts. Right now they are experimenting with human ears and noses I think. Growing just the needed parts but not the rest of the body. I agree with this, but not full-on human cloning. No need to create sentient life forms, it's just a bad idea in general. Honestly, do none of the cloning researchers watch the syfy channel.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Why do people question whether a close is a person or not? Why do clones in fiction always have existential crises over not being the, "Original"? I mean, if I were a clone, how would I not be human, or me, but also with me over there being me at the same time?

I don't exactly get that, either... you're either a sentient being or you're not, it's not a very hard thing in my mind.

 

[Coraxian]

I once saw a talk on TED where they would create blood vessels and other human parts. They used an organic "skeleton" on which they applied cloned cells. The first tests were going very well.

They were even experimenting with what looked like an old HP deskjet printer where instead of different colours of ink were placed in the different compartments there were different types of cells. They added a small servo motor to allow the "printed" object to move downwards to give it a third dimension. Slice by slice they were printing a heart.

Imagine being diagnosed with a bad heart, kidneys or somesuch. They will be able to harvest some of your own cells, clone them, make your new organ and after a few weeks they can replace it.

The rejection rate would be negligable compared to the current ones. No more waiting lists and no more need to kill off the immune system, risking death by some otherwise relatively harmless infection.

I'm all for it. And since this is rather personal for me, I think anyone who is against it out of principle (just cloning cells here) should be given the job of informing the people (and their families) who will die from infections caused by the lowered immune system or the total lack of a donor why they will die.

 

[Booze Zombie]

I'm all for it. And since this is rather personal for me, I think anyone who is against it out of principle (just cloning cells here) should be given the job of informing the people (and their families) who will die from infections caused by the lowered immune system or the total lack of a donor why they will die.

I am all for cloning (as noted in the OP), but I thought there was currently a way around the rejection process without killing off your immune system?
Something involving bone-marrow transplants from whoever donated the organ/s?

hat sounds really......selfish, to be honest.

unless you mean making cloned copies of the limb, or whatever you need so you arent just cutting up a copy of yourself to get whatever the original needs.

cloning in general would be great, but should have restrictions, after all we would be making almost identical copies of ourselves [I hold a belief that we cant clone memories, only seed/implant them, so the clone made wouldn't know our history unless we told them it.] that would also have feelings and emotions.

its a tricky issue, but one that could end for the better if we would just try.

I have since edited the OP to clarify that I mean the growing of the limb on it's own for restorative purposes, not whole, sentient, replacement bodies.

 

[Crazy_Dude]

Growing new limbs and organs is something I highly value. Unfortuanly stem cell research is stalled for now for bullshit reasons they should really pick it up sometimes.

Cloning however is a tad tricky I do not see why you would even try to clone a human being.

"Scientist where so busy figuring out if they could but not asking themselves if they should"

 

[Ham_authority95]

Cloning body parts: Great! No more of that uncomfortable organ-donor shit...


Cloning people for armies: Pretty okay, but all that "free-will" stuff makes for a moral dilema.

Cloning for scientific research: Fine with me. Its already one of the top reasons for cloning, anyway.

Cloning people for anything else: Would YOU want another one of yourself running around on the planet?

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Well so long as we aren't growing fully sentient clones (as in we can't grow them with sentience) and then harvesting them for "replacement parts", I'm fine with cloning. Organs are nice since you can just grow what you need, but if you have to grow the whole thing then hopefully it isn't a full human being.

As for sentient clones I don't like the idea of using them for spare parts. Don't know what we'd use them for, if they just naturally weren't as smart as the original then I guess menial labor or something. But I don't know where I stand on growing cheap labor though.

 

[xdom125x]

I am all for cloning limbs, but I want to know what happens when the head is what needs to be replaced?

 

[Booze Zombie]

Cloning people for anything else: Would YOU want another one of yourself running around on the planet?

Probably not; if I had a blank clone I could transfer my mind to upon death, however...

 

[Kyoufuu]

Cloning people for anything else: Would YOU want another one of yourself running around on the planet?

Probably not; if I had a blank clone I could transfer my mind to upon death, however...

How do you get a blank clone? It has its own brain, own experiences, own memories, thoughts, hopes, dreams...

To transfer your mind into it, displacing its own mind, would essentially be murder.

 

[SwagLordYoloson]

Cloning Animals will solve world hunger

 

[nuba km]

may I say that they are already cloning cows and other farm animals.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Cloning Animals will solve world hunger

Um...how? People have been breeding animals for food for millenia.

How does doing it in a lab at massive expense work better than letting the creatures breed naturally?