Technique may cure many diseases, but may also threaten biodiversity.

Leandro is a genetic copy of Lucas in the novela The Clone. He was produced in a laboratory by scientist Albieri, without fertilization of the ovule (female sex cell) by a spermatozoid (male sex cell). So it was done without the cross-breeding of genes of a father and mother, which is what guarantees that children have their own characteristics and are unique in nature.



That is why, in the novela, Leandro has the same eyes, mouth, hands, fingers ultimately the same physique and the same genetic code of Lucas. They only don't have the same age - and experience of life - because they were generated in different

times and environments.


The cloning technique used by the character Albieri and which, in fiction, originated Leandro (implanted when he was an embryo into the uterus of the character Deusa, played by Adriana Lessa), was inspired in the procedure that, in real life, originated Dolly, the first clone of an adult living being.

Dolly is a copy

The announcement that scientists had "produced" an identical copy of another animal was made in 1997. Veterinarian Ian Wilmut, of the Roslin Institute (Edimburgh, Scotland), gave life to sheep Dolly by merging the nucleus of a non-sexual cell (removed from the breast) of a Finn Dorset sheep to the ovule without nucleus of a Scottish Blackface sheep.



Since then, a great controversy involved the subject. One of the many arguments against cloning says that generating a series of identical beings into the world would affect nature's genetic diversity (biodiversity). Even so,

experiments continue, and some scientists already think of generating the first human clone.


The greatest concern regarding cloning has an ethical basis - thats where bioethics comes in, the science that deals with the moral , religious, psychological and philosophical aspects of the advance of medicine. The most common questions are: can man create life in an artificial way and assume the role of God? Will biodiversity in nature, a factor that guarantees the evolution of species, be harmed? What should we do about clones that are born defective? Will human clones have a soul? What kind of psychological pressures will they suffer from society?

Difficulties

Cloning today may produce beings with physical problems. Dolly , for example , although young, has some "old" cells, as old as the cloned sheep (the one that donated the nucleus of the cell containing the genes). That means that, in the case humans are cloned, the possibility exists of "aged" babies being born. Which means that as kids they can suffer diseases like rheumatism, cancer and degeneration of neurones, amongst others. Problems may also occur because of deformed organs, whose functions could be damaged.

All this without mentioning that, for every normal clone, dozens of defective ones are generated.Up till now, most animals duplicated were born too big, with missing limbs and with respiratory difficulties, kidney and immunological deficiencies, intestinal blockage and several other problems. The exagerated size of clones is also a risk for the surrogate mother during delivery. And not all cloned embryos survive - to make sheep Dolly, for example, of the 227 duplicate cells, only 27 became embryos and of those only one survived.

Positive side

It is only a matter of time, however, until all these difficulties are corrected - specially in the opinion of those that see in cloning a hope of life for thousands. Because, after all, cloning does have its positive side.



Cloning technique does not have to be only applied in the production of living beings (reproductive cloning). It can also be used to make cells and organs (therapeutic cloning). From stem cells extracted from cloned embryos (see illustration at the end of this page), scientists believe that, in the future, they can make hearts, kidneys and other organs for transplants.They can also grow healthy cells that

will take over the functions of defective body cells or correct them , leading to the cure of paralysis, diabetes, cirrhosis, hepatitis and Parkingson's disease, amongst other illness.


Cloning is a box full of surprises and a lot of controversy. On one side are those that condemn human intervention in an order created by God, which is the case of the followers of Islam. Tha argument is that the creature should not dare to become creator. On the other hand, there are those that dream that a beloved son can be cured of a serious disease with the help of cloning techniques.



The debate is open - and, now, amplified by a good portion of society, exactly as Glória Perez and Jayme Monjardim wished when they picked such a controversial and present theme for the novela The Clone.