The theme of Human Cloning in The series Orphan Black Essay Example
The theme of Human Cloning in The series Orphan Black Essay Example

The theme of Human Cloning in The series Orphan Black Essay Example

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  • Pages: 2 (414 words)
  • Published: April 6, 2022
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The series Orphan Black is teeming with science. The program features Tatiana Maslany who acts as the different human clones. The clones struggle through their lives to try evading Dyad Corporation. The series mainly covers biological topics like human cloning and genetic engineering. Cloning is a process in which one creates a biological copy of an organism. Sarah and Helena are twin clone sisters, belonging to similar surrogate mother. The rest of the clones belong to unknown surrogate mothers. However, the clones are supposed to be infertile, but both Sarah and Helena are unique as they can both bear children. The reason for this can be because Helena and Sarah are monozygotic. Each of the clone’s DNA has a barcode, which make them properties of Dyad institute.

The clones seem to be from somatic gene therapy where modified genes were introduced

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into body cells that were non-productive, making it non-inheritable to offspring of a clone. Biologists have applied the technique to treat patients with severe genetic disorders. The aim of Dyad scientists was to engineer infertility. They could have done it by triggering ovulation disorders. They could also have interfered with the fallopian tube functions. However, non-human clones have full ability of reproducing including mammals. Cloning is yet to exist in humans, but biologists have done it to plants and vertebrates. They do so in nonhuman by a process called somatic cell nuclear transfer. They combine an egg that has nucleus with a somatic cell nucleus to make an embryo. In case of reproduction, the process produces organisms that are genetically similar to the person who donated the somatic cell nucleus.

The process has raised many ethical

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and moral issues. Genetically modified organisms are popular in the today’s society where people praise them of being resistant to diseases and that their yields are high. However, there are concerns of health problems arising from an increased use of GMO products. The program is misleading to its target audience who are the youth mainly between 18-49 years by encouraging human cloning. I do not support cloning, especially human cloning. The process is helpful when used find cure for severe illness, but making humans will bring disorder to the society. People will have no respect for life as reproductive cloning can help in making another human life. Further, as observed in Orphan Black, some clones like Cosima have genetic defects, as there are high chances of reproducing a child with genetic defects from human cloning.

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