Cloning and Genetic Engineering

Both genetic engineering and cloning have many applications and are now widely used in medicine, industry, and agriculture. In genetic engineering particular genes are manipulated or transferred from one living thing to another for a specific purpose. This process produces a completely new set of genes. Cloning is a form of genetic engineering that produces exact copies--a clone is an organism that is an exact genetic copy of another. For supporters of genetic engineering, developments in this science have opened up a world of possibilities for the future. But for its opponents, there are serious concerns about its safety, and about the moral rights and wrongs of "tampering with nature." This enlightening volume offers arguments for both sides of the cloning and genetic engineering debate. Among the subjects examined are the human genome, transgenics, reproductive cloning, research cloning, stem cell therapy, genetic disease and testing, gene therapy, plant and animal pharming, genetically modified animals and crops, and gene doping.