World's first cloned cat has kittens

[Sophist]

Clicky clicky (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061215/ap_on_sc/cloned_cat_s_kittens)

[kittycats_delight]

And once again we have idiots playing God. :rolleyes:

I don't even want to get into all the things I could say about this.

[Catty1]

Great....deliberately producing kittens in the name of science when so many are put to sleep due to lack of homes.

Not the babies' fault - they are cute.

But some stoopid humans....sheesh!

[moosmom]

Great....deliberately producing kittens in the name of science when so many are put to sleep due to lack of homes


And once again we have idiots playing God.

I don't even want to get into all the things I could say about this

I echo your thoughts, girls.

Although they are cute and it's not their fault, more shelter kitties will die because frenzied people wanting a "cloned" kitten will stand in line just for the bragging rights. Makes me ill. :mad:

[Miss Z]

What I want to know is : Why the hell are these scientists messing around cloning cats, which proves nothing other than it is do-able, rather than trying to put cloning to good use, eg. using it to rescue a few species from the brink of extinction? It mentioned the African cats in the report so I see it as a little bit of a waste of time to be cloning and then breeding from cloned domestic kitties. :confused:

[Lady's Human]

The successful reproduction from a clone proves that there was no genetic damage to the cat when they cloned her.

[Pembroke_Corgi]

The successful reproduction from a clone proves that there was no genetic damage to the cat when they cloned her.
Yes, exactly.

I think cloning is a wonderful area of research...we are already benefiting from genetically modified foods. The hope is that one day, we can clone tissues and organs to save lives and provide transplants to people who need them. I think this page is a good resource about cloning: Cloning fact sheet (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml)

[Argranade]

Know what,

I'm sick and tired of this so all I'm going to say is,

The kittens are so cute & the humans are nuts once again,

Cross breeding, cloning ect .. people just keep doing it and I'm tired of telling and thinking it's wrong because no matter what it will keep happening unless God grabs those weird people and sticks them on planet ''No Brains'' forever .. and of course NO animals would be on that planet for them to hunt or study on. ;)

[Giselle]

The successful reproduction from a clone proves that there was no genetic damage to the cat when they cloned her.
Not necessarily. Dolly gave birth to six lambs in her lifetime, but she was euthanised around 6 years of age due to an irreversible infection in her lungs. At age 5, she had shown abnormal symptoms of aging and became arthritic and overweight. It's worthy to note that most sheep don't show signs of aging until about 10 years of age. Successful reproduction only proves that they are capable of reproducing. But it doesn't prove their overall genetic health and/or longevity.

ETA: Oh yeah and the cat giving birth to kittens thing... If this eventually leads scientists to successful human therapeutic cloning, then I say kudos to the cloned cat. If not, stop playing God for goodness sakes!

[#1Wolflover]

I'm not exactly sure why people want to clone animals, I mean whats the purpose? And why clone when you can go to a local sheltor and adopt a perfectly good kitten? :confused:

[#1Wolflover]

Yes, exactly.

I think cloning is a wonderful area of research...we are already benefiting from genetically modified foods. The hope is that one day, we can clone tissues and organs to save lives and provide transplants to people who need them. I think this page is a good resource about cloning: Cloning fact sheet (http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/cloning.shtml)
yeah bones and tissues are body parts, why clone an animal though whats that gonna save? instead it will allow animals in sheltors to be put down because everyone wants theres cloned after it dies. :)

[Lady's Human]

It was a scientific experiment, not "Hey, let's clone a cat for the hell of it!"

Cloning research could lead to growing individual organs, etc. for people who need transplants This has nothing to do with producing pets, it is for research.

Dolly was a first, and there were problems that they discovered after they cloned her which advanced the science. Successful reproduction, however is a sign that other issues aside, it was a success. (they cloned a 6 year old sheep, and surprise!, they got a lamb with 6 year old genes)

[Twisterdog]

It was a scientific experiment, not "Hey, let's clone a cat for the hell of it!"

Cloning research could lead to growing individual organs, etc. for people who need transplants This has nothing to do with producing pets, it is for research.

Dolly was a first, and there were problems that they discovered after they cloned her which advanced the science. Successful reproduction, however is a sign that other issues aside, it was a success. (they cloned a 6 year old sheep, and surprise!, they got a lamb with 6 year old genes)

Agreed.

The scientists are going to keep these kittens for their natural life and monitor their health very closely. I can assure they will not be sold to the general public, just to make a profit. Scientific research and advances take time, trial and error. Of course Dolly the sheep had problems ... it was the first attempt. I doubt the first attempt at a motorized vehicle ran like a Corvette.

There are certainly potential moral and ethical problems with cloning. Just as there are moral and ethical potentially present in EVERY new discovery and advance. I personally think that cloning has the potential to eliminate so many diseases and so much suffering in the world, that it is certainly worth pursuing. If your parent or your child or your spouse or you had terminal cancer or another fatal disease, and the only hope of survival was a cloned liver or heart or bladder, would you not want it to be available?

With all the backyard breeders, unaltered strays, puppy mills, etc. in the world ... one cloned cats' kittens, which will be cared for and monitored their entire lives, is not even a single water molecule on the very tip of the iceberg.

[smokey the elder]

These kittens are much too valuable to be pets! They will probably be the best cared for cats on the planet. Cloning is highly charged ethically for good reason. It's one of those extreme forms of technology (think nuclear power!) that can be used for great good or evil. Human beings have to use their heads about this stuff.

[Vela]

If your parent or your child or your spouse or you had terminal cancer or another fatal disease, and the only hope of survival was a cloned liver or heart or bladder, would you not want it to be available?


That depends, would the organ be cloned inside a clone of that ill person, or cloned in and of itself without life being created to sustain it? IF said part came from a clone of a person, such as a whole cloned person, then my answer is no, I wouldn't want it, because I don't beleive we have the right to create a whole life and snuff it out for our own selfish needs. IF the parts could be cloned individually, without creating a whole other life to sustain it, then I wouldn't have an issue with using it.

[Cataholic]

If your parent or your child or your spouse or you had terminal cancer or another fatal disease, and the only hope of survival was a cloned liver or heart or bladder, would you not want it to be available?



Yes. Yes. Yes. To think of all the suffering we could stop in this world. :(

[molucass]

(they cloned a 6 year old sheep, and surprise!, they got a lamb with 6 year old genes)

So what you are saying is, that genetically the lamb was 12 years old, since she was put to sleep when she was 6 years old?

Well then, if thats what you are saying.. There's no wonder she was having those problems at "such a young age". When most don't show it until they are 10 years.

[lvpets2002]

:( Thank you Michelle.. It just makes me sick with all the sickness we have out there That all these Lab Rats can do is too Clone Everything.. :rolleyes: Also dont we Have Enough Wittle FurrPurr Babies out there begging for homes.. :confused: Oh Great this happened in Texas & none other than Tx AM :p
And once again we have idiots playing God. :rolleyes:

I don't even want to get into all the things I could say about this.

[Lady's Human]

So you're willing to swear off any medical cures found through this research?

[Giselle]

So what you are saying is, that genetically the lamb was 12 years old, since she was put to sleep when she was 6 years old?

Well then, if thats what you are saying.. There's no wonder she was having those problems at "such a young age". When most don't show it until they are 10 years.
Nope. It's not that simple at all. When Dolly was 2 years, the telomeres (caps that stabilize cells and diminish with age) in some of her cells were comparable to that of a 6 year old, the age of her donor. But if you think about it like 6+2, I guess that would "work" to a certain extent. Still, 8 years is far from the average 10 years.

Indeed, cloning has come a long way, but a seemingly simple process is still turning out to be filled with obstacles and barriers. IMO, the most foolproof way to tell the genetic health is to wait for it to die and check out its longevity/health. =/

[#1Wolflover]

So you're willing to swear off any medical cures found through this research?
then if its sooooooo important why don't people try it on themselves? let me guess safety precautions?

[Giselle]

then if its sooooooo important why don't people try it on themselves? let me guess safety precautions?
Hee hee. The debate over *human* cloning is even greater than animal cloning. Besides, you'll be hard pressed to further human therapeutic cloning with the current government funding and aged stem cell lines.

[Lady's Human]

Cloning and stem cell research are two different areas of science. While they interrelate to a point, they are not identical.

[Giselle]

True, but they can both be generated to form human organs, which was the broader question that #1Wolflover was asking. But, you're right. Stem cell research is not cloning. However, the general criticism over human cloning and stem cell research can be applied to the whole "why we don't do it on ourselves" issue.

[Twisterdog]

That depends, would the organ be cloned inside a clone of that ill person, or cloned in and of itself without life being created to sustain it? IF said part came from a clone of a person, such as a whole cloned person, then my answer is no, I wouldn't want it, because I don't beleive we have the right to create a whole life and snuff it out for our own selfish needs. IF the parts could be cloned individually, without creating a whole other life to sustain it, then I wouldn't have an issue with using it.

I do not think that would EVER happen ... cloning a person then killing him/her to harvest an organ. I do not think that is something we will EVER have to worry about.

[wombat2u2004]

Makes one think that a movie like "Blade Runner" could end up a true story !!!!

[Luvin Labs]

Makes one think that a movie like "Blade Runner" could end up a true story !!!!

Or the newer similar version "The Island"...

[Vela]

I do not think that would EVER happen ... cloning a person then killing him/her to harvest an organ. I do not think that is something we will EVER have to worry about.

Never say never. You just never know. I would also like to think that wouldn't happen, but I'm not going to go so far as to say it isn't possible people decide to do it. There have been many people throughout history who would very well do such as thing as that, so I don't have any trouble thiking there woulnd't be others out there that would/could/will do it too. Hopefully not, but I would have to say if someone did it wouldn't surprise me in the least. People kill others every day with abortions, which happens to be perfectly legal, with partial birth abortions performed after 20 weeks (5+ months pregnant), where they birth everything but the head, so they can't say it's "alive", then stab scissors into the baby's brain to kill it and suck out it's brain with a suction catheter. Yes it's morbid and disgusting, but lots of people seem just fine with doing that. Four more inches of birth for that baby and it would be consdiered murder in any state...some of those babies they do it to are 6 months and OLDER in the womb, and could and most often WOULD live outside the womb. There are so many things wrong with that that it is easily possible for me to see them doing such to harvest organs. If people are capable of doing partial birth abortions, because someone was irresponsible and now doesn't want a baby, then they are capable of almost anything.

[Sevaede]

If people are capable of doing partial birth abortions, because someone was irresponsible and now doesn't want a baby, then they are capable of almost anything.

Rape victims are irresponsible? What about all the children born into abusive homes? Not trying to argue, just curious! :)

[Lady's Human]

Somehow I think Vela was referring to abortions where rape or incest aren't factors. (Which are the vast majority of abortions)

[cuterat]

I believe that they are doing it with good intentions. I mean, I heard they are hoping to clone cows/pigs/ets. instead of breeding them to slaughter for meat.

But they SHOULD use it to bring animals back from the point of extinction, tigers, anyone? :mad:

Once they work out the 6 year old gene thing. :eek:

[cuterat]

then if its sooooooo important why don't people try it on themselves? let me guess safety precautions?

If we are scared of what might happen, why do we do it on the animals?
What did they ever do to us?

A cloned heart or liver would probably be defective anyway.

[Vela]

Rape victims are irresponsible? What about all the children born into abusive homes? Not trying to argue, just curious! :)

Lady's Human is right, and as far as rape and incest goes, there is no reason whatsoever they couldn't have an abortion performed much earlier on in the pregnancy, as could ANYONE, to prevent unwanted children or products of incest and rape. This wasn't an argument about abortion in the first place though....I was merely pointing out that if people are capable of doing THAT, or even many of the inhumane things they did during the holocaust or other horrible things people are capable of, why would anyone think that people are not capable of cloning a human for parts? I'm not saying they will, or have, or ever will, I just do not see it as outside the realm of possibility, like some do.

[Lady's Human]

I would reccomend Niven's stories about Gil the ARM Hamilton and the organ banks.

It's an example of how far Niven thinks humanity could go to extend life.

[Vela]

That sounds interesting, I will check that out.

[Sevaede]

Somehow I think Vela was referring to abortions where rape or incest aren't factors. (Which are the vast majority of abortions)

Okay, got it! :)

[Sevaede]

Lady's Human is right, and as far as rape and incest goes, there is no reason whatsoever they couldn't have an abortion performed much earlier on in the pregnancy, as could ANYONE, to prevent unwanted children or products of incest and rape. This wasn't an argument about abortion in the first place though....I was merely pointing out that if people are capable of doing THAT, or even many of the inhumane things they did during the holocaust or other horrible things people are capable of, why would anyone think that people are not capable of cloning a human for parts? I'm not saying they will, or have, or ever will, I just do not see it as outside the realm of possibility, like some do.

I understand what you mean! I agree. :)