Clones (CM)

Ever since the dawn of the wonder genre known as science fiction, certain recurring features can be seen throughout. Starships, aliens, lasers - and clones. While not quite as prevalent as said starships and aliens, they are certainly still a part, and an often scary one as that. Star Trek clones, Star Wars clones, Bladerunner  clones, Matrix clones, Hitman clone and I am sure many more. The common feature that all of these fictitious clones share is that none of them are represented well. The ones that are represented somewhat neutrally are still viewed as enigmatic, alien - not quite human. The ones that are represented poorly, then, are viewed as literally not human, like they are tools of war or work, or even freaks of nature that shouldn't exist.

The truth about cloning is very, very very different.

It's unfortunate that our society has been so broadly misinformed about the realities of cloning. I'm sure that many of us when we hear the word "clone" we imagine legions of bald, eyebrow-less, pale people with barcode tattoos. Cloning does not produce this. Cloning produces only one thing - an organism genetically identical to the animal it's DNA was taken from. That's it. Nothing more - nothing less, no black magic - no horrors against the lord. To say it another way, cloning is simply a way of artificially producing an organisms twin. Another fact that some people may not be aware of is that clones are not grown in vitro. They develop in a womb like any other organism, and are born the natural way as well.

What I am trying to say is that there is nothing nefarious about cloning. In fact, it's a good thing. In the future, it may allow infertile couples to have biological children, and cloning of individual tissues or organs will provide people who need organ transplants organs that match theirs exactly. Cloning is a marvel of modern medicine, and I hope that the false perceptions surrounding it will disappear soon.