Cloning
The medical science and technology found in Star Trek is nothing short of a miracle by our current primitive standard. Is it purely fantasy? I hope not. I think one day many such miracles will become ordinary medical procedures and techniques. The following are some notes on our current state of bio-medical technology:
Once in the realm of scientific fiction, it is now very much fact with the widely published cloning of the sheep called "Dolly". Whereas at the time of announcement it has been met by suspicion that this feat is unrepeatable, since then mice and cows have successfully been cloned.
If this is possible, then the cloning of human cannot really be rule out. May be experiment is already under way to do this, but the ethics involves tend to push such experiment underground.
The though of human being clone is very weird. While I have no objection with the process of cloning, the ethical and sociological problems that it leads to is very troubling. The worst thing I suppose is that these are all done for commercial exploitation. And this is exactly what we are heading towards. For instance, the technique used in the cloning of "Dolly" have been patented around the world already!
I am no animal right activist, but to exploit an animal or human for pure commercial gain (or even where it benefits in some way human health) is wrong. Commercial exploitation is certainly against the philosophy behind Star Trek.
May we are just not ready for cloning in our society which is driven primarily by market (commercial) forces. But then is it proper? Even in the non-commercial world of Star Trek, cloning is not practice (part of the reason is because repeated cloning is said to result in genetic damage in Star Trek). People still find it grotesque.
Indeed, imagine "people" being clone and used as organ banks for sick individual. This fundamentally shift the meaning of what it is to be human and what is human right. Are clone "people"? If so do they enjoy the same human right as non-clone? Are they an individual? Can they be exploited as a source of organs?
Currently we do not have ability to scan the DNA structure in an instant.
The best that we can do now (eg in so called DNA finger-printing) is to map a very small portion of the DNA at a time. In fact, we still have not completely map the complete gene structure of human. The Human Genome project is working on this. This is a very slow and tedious process.
The ability to scan the DNA structure as in Star Trek instantly will undoubted come one day. However, judging form current development it would probably not be soon. Radically more powerful "scanning" equipment is needed in addition to a better understanding of the DNA itself.
• Technology in this field is advancing rapidly.
• Up till now there is no fewer than 45 transgenic animals (such as cows, pigs, goats, etc) that is used as a production vehicle to produce various chemicals needed by human .
See
Electronic and Mechanical
Implant
On many occasions, when less technologically sophisticated (ie. pre-warp civilization) aliens came into contact with Star Fleet (often accidentally) their memories of the encounter are magically erased by the doctor. Ok, it sometimes does not way due to the peculiar make up of different aliens’ brain. This makes one wonder whether memories can be wiped so conveniently.
The answer on this is not clear. But one line of recent research in relation to human memories do point towards this possibilities, although somewhat indirectly. Research have established that it is possible to create false memories in people to such an extent that even the person, or a third party observer, would have not clue that the planted memories are false. It all seems real.
If false memories can be planted so easily, it may be that "real" memories can be as easily changed or "wiped". And this does not even involve any physical manipulation of the brain, such as the destruction of certain chemical bonds as in Star Trek. This could be another possibility.
No one like growing old. People look for ways, invest lots of money in cosmetics, exotic foods to stay young. But the body continue to age in an inevitable way. Can the aging process be reversed? Not even the medical science in Star Trek can achieve this.
Yet the technique develop for the cloning process may point towards such a direction.
Whereas the previous beliefs in molecular biology is that as an organism grows, its cells divide and specialize by switching on and off certain genes inside their nuclei. Once a particular gene is turned off it is thought that it cannot be turn back on, but the cloning result suggests that the process is reversible.
|
|
Modified: 23rd
April 2000 |
To top of page
Back
to main index![[my logo]](../../images/my_logo_b.gif){kind=logo}