Is Cloning the Future? 克隆一個你？

Saving lives has always been an important mission of science. Now science, and indeed all society, is facing a new dilemma:whether or not to try and save more lives through human cloning.

The first cloning experiments in the 1950s involved frogs and toads. It was not until 1997 that scientists successfully cloned the first mammal, the now world-famous sheep known as Dolly. Cloning techniques have continued to improve since then, and today there are cloned mice, salmon, and cattle.

Some scientists want to apply the methods used in cloning animals to produce skin, organs, and other body parts for humans. One of these methods involves taking adult cells from the brain or blood and growing them into new tissues. Another, more complex, technique takes embryo cells and develops them into a wide variety of cell types and tissues. It is this planned use of human embryos that has resulted in controversy and criticism.

The cloning of human cells provides the potential to find cures and eliminate diseases. The dream of some researchers is to create a utopian world of good health. Others question whether it is right to "Play God" in an attempt to cure the disabilities and diseases of this world.

Some of the great hopes for cloning include the ability to perform transplants, whenever they are needed, using cloned organs. For example, people with lung cancer may simply have their lungs replaced with healthy ones. Scientists also look forward to the day when people in wheelchairs can walk again, and illnesses such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease can be prevented.

Many people fear the effects cloning could have on our society. They imagine masses of identical people, and the production of "perfect" humans for warfare or slave labor. We might even see headless human bodies being stored at hospitals for their "spare parts." With such thought-provoking possibilities for the 21st century, human cloning will no doubt continue to receive widespread attention and scrutiny.

挽救生命一直是科學研究的一項重要使命。如今，科學研究，其實是整個社會，正面臨著一個新的困境：是否要設法通過克隆人類來挽救更多的生命。

克隆實驗開始于20世紀50年代，對象為青蛙和蟾蜍。直到1997年，科學家才成功地克隆了哺乳類動物，即世界聞名的“多莉羊”。克隆技術從那時起得到了持續的進展，今天已有了克隆老鼠、克隆鮭魚和克隆牛。

一些科學家想用克隆動物的方法，來為人類制造人類使用的皮膚、器官與其它的身體構造。其方法之一是從腦內或血液中提取成熟細胞，把它們培養成新組織。另外一種較為復雜的技術，則是把胚胎細胞培養成各式各樣的細胞種類及組織。正是這個有計劃的使用人類胚胎引起了爭議與批評。

克隆人類細胞有可能會找到治愈疾病的療法并消滅疾病。一些研究人員的夢想是建立一個健康的烏托邦世界。其他研究人員則質疑人類企圖治療世上的傷殘和疾病去扮演上帝的角色是否正確。

人們對克隆的一些偉大希望包括在需要進行移植手術時，人們能使用克隆器官。例如：肺癌患者可能僅需換個健康的肺。科學家也期待著有一天，長期坐輪椅的人能再站起來，老年癡呆癥及帕金森氏癥等疾病也都能事先預防。

許多人擔心克隆對社會帶來影響。他們想像可能會出現一大群長得一模一樣的人，和應戰爭或苦役需要而制造出的“完美”人類。我們甚至可能看到存放在醫院中作備用的無頭的人體。在21世紀具有如此能激發思考的種種可能性的情況下，克隆人類毫無疑問會繼續受到廣泛的關注及審視。