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1

Cloning is cool. And maybe if we made chimeras (I think hybrid is the wrong word), we wouldn't want to murder animals any more. I mean, we'd be less immoral people if we just realized how wrong it is to hurt animals, but if that's what it took to stop the insane killing, why not?

Is it because twins creep people out? I always kind of thought everyone had these twin sex fantasies. Why not make it easier? Plus realize meat is murder. Both.

Posted by elenchos | November 22, 2007 9:28 AM
2

Cloning is a sure thing. It will eventually become easy to do, and then some Doctor in Liberia or Bulgaria will start doing it. Then the capitalist machine will smell money, and it will be everywhere.

On one level I don't care if somebody wants to have a clone vs. having a sexually reproduced baby, but it kind of bums me out for a couple of reasons:

(1) The clone only has one biological parent. It's nice to go through life related to at least two people on this earth, especially when the shit hits the fan (like an estrangement from one of your biological parents). Of course you *can* do without- I did for most of my childhood, and I've got adopted friends who are doing just fine- but it's assured for the clones.

(2) For people in heterosexual relationships, one of the wonderful things about having kids is that they wind up having some of your traits and some of your partner's traits (and then of course some traits that you look at and go "where the hell did that come from?") But there's definitely the idea that you've come together with this person and created something new and different (and dare one hope, better?) than what either of you was by yourselves. None of this applies with clones. The supposition will be that the clone will be just like one of the parents at birth.

(3) This will make yet another asshole reason for people to have kids. You just know that every narcissist in the world will be coming up with reasons to clone themselves. "The world needs another Albanian cribbage master!", they will say. Get ready for Clone Barry Bonds and Clone Mike Meyers and Clone Mitt Romney.

None of these are reasons to outlaw cloning. You can't stop progress. But I'm not looking forward to it.

Posted by Big Sven | November 22, 2007 11:16 AM
3

Dr. Moreau made his freaks of nature the ol’ fashioned way with cosmetic surgery and hypnosis. NOT with new fangled genetic manipulation and cloning.

Posted by Pastey Boy | November 22, 2007 1:26 PM
4

Well someone has apparently attempted to and almost succeeded in cloning President Bush right here in Seattle:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/340597_algae22.html

Oh and even if cloning via replacing nuclear material worked, it wouldn't be a true clone, because the mitochondrial DNA (probably the cause of homosexuality, birth-sex bias, and many cancers) comes from the donor egg.

There would be that further hurdle to cross - replacing the mitochondrial DNA with your own, - before you had a true clone.

Posted by kinaidos | November 22, 2007 2:25 PM
5

there are already an assload of patents on chimeras. be afraid; be very afraid.

Posted by My clone sleeps alone | November 22, 2007 5:39 PM

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