Cloning- Legal or Not?

Cloning isn't an issue that is slowly destroying our planet. But it's something different. What is cloning? Cloning is a method that scientists use to make an exact genetic copy of another living thing. Now here's the main question. Should cloning be legal or not? I think it should be legal because it helps scientists figure out how diseases form and develop, they could study medicines on animals to see how they react to it, and they could clone specific animals to produce food products faster and cheaper.  But, do you agree or disagree with me?

The first ever clone was created by a Scottish scientist names, Dr. Ian Wilmut in 1997. He cloned a 7-month old sheep named, Dolly. This question may be wandering in your head right now. Why did Dr. Wilmut want to clone a sheep? Well it's a perfectly practical answer. There are enough sheep in the world, but, scientists can put medicine into the sheep's milk so that they can produce medicine faster. Smart, right?

But when you think about cloning, don't think about the movie Jurassic Park. It's totally fictional! Even though scientist can duplicate living things, it's quite impossible that they could clone extinct dinosaurs. Scientists have not found a very well preserved DNA this old. And they probably never will. So hopes are pretty down on that.

There are some other animals that have been cloned. Most of them will seem useless to you. But once you learn why they do, you'll think that scientist are pretty darn smart.

• Mice. Another dirty creature that people try to get rid of in their houses using poison, traps, etc. So you may wonder, why in the world do scientists want to clone this animal? Well here's the reason. Scientists use special mice, which they have injected some kind of chemical in during the process of cloning, so that they can study how diseases like cancer develop and progress.
• Cows. Scientist clone cows because they will be able to produce much more milk and meat than before. By cloning these animals, farmers could produce more milk and meat quicker and cheaper.
• Monkeys. Scientists clone monkeys to help develop new medicines for humans. And why do they do it on a monkey? Well, it's because monkeys are the closest animals to humans. If you've ever heard of the theory that humans developed from monkeys, than this should make sense.They will also know how the human will react to the medicine since monkeys are quite alike.

As you can see, cloning helps us in many ways that we may not have even known. Did you know that cloning is also related to most of our food. Take a look at this story.

For a long time, farmers have used a method called breeding, to grow crops that are precisely perfect.(mainly on tomatoes)How do they do this, though? Well, they mix different kinds together to produce redder, larger and tastier tomatoes!

Also, scientists have used animal genes and put them into a vegetable or fruit. For example, I've never heard of a tomato that can survive the cold, freezing weather. But I do know that Arctic Flounders can survive it! So, they put the flounder's genes into the tomato and there you have it, .an anti-freezable tomato! You may have heard what GMO is and this is exactly it.

I hope that you learned something from my post today! I know that I did! Please share your opinion on cloning and tell me if you think it should be legal or not.
Thanks and have nice day!

Anuja

Resources:


http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel/genes/reproductionandcloningrev1.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel/genes/reproductionandcloningrev2.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/edexcel/genes/reproductionandcloningrev3.shtml

http://www.rowingmachinesource.com/price/under-500/231404+13630.cfm

http://www.wikianswers.com

http://www.amnh.org/ology/

New Issues of the week!

Hi Everyone! The poll that I had on my blog has officially ended and the results are in:
Cloning-8 votes
Illiteracy-3 votes
Slavery- 0 votes
So as you can see, cloning wins! My post will be up by Monday. So make sure to drop by and leave your comments and questions!

Thanks!
Anuja

Water Crisis

Water Crisis. Another horrible issue that is effecting the lives of many people. 1 billion people don't have access to safe drinking water. That's about 1/6 of the world's population! Now here's the main question. "Should governments adopt better water conservation policies?" I think they should, because everyone deserves to live with clean water, clothing and shelter. But, do you?


5 million people die each year from poor drinking water illnesses and other infections. Now all of you that are reading this post right now don't really know what it is like to not have water at all. You may not even know how much water we consume! Did you know that it take 639 gallons of water to produce on hamburger? Think about it for a minute and realize this! That's a lot of water. And for a pair of blue jeans it take 2,900 gallons of water! I know that we cannot save this water, because we are not the ones taking care of the cattle that produces the hamburger or the amount of water that we use to water the cotton. And why can't we do that? Well obviously, because these are things from mother nature and they will eventually die if we don't give them the proper amount of nutrients and minerals that they need.


Some other terrifying facts are that 40 billion hours are spent each year collecting water in sub- Saharan Africa. That's equal to 19-million full-time employees!  Also, 443 million school days are lost annually because of water related illnesses.


There are some very little things that can make a big difference such as, a small drip from a faucet can waste about 1 gallon of water a day. That may not seem like much, but, when you are gone for maybe 3-4 days on vacation and you leave your faucet dripping just a little bit, your wasting over 3 gallons of water. Wouldn't it be better to use that water instead of wasting it? To me it would.


But what can you do to save water? These are very basic things, but once I tell you what the outcome is, you will really want to start doing these things. Here we go:

1.  When your brushing your teeth, don't let the water run from the faucet. Turn it off. By doing this you, will save 2 gallons of water!
2. Don't use your toilet as a trashcan! Never ever try to flush a cotton swab, a Kleenex, or any other item that you may regularly throw away in the toilet thinking that it is more convenient. By doing this you will save 5-7 gallons of water!
   
3.  Don't just start your dishwasher when it's not fully loaded, fill it up and then turn it on. By doing that you will save about 8 gallons of water!
4.  Instead of taking a bath all the time, just take a simple shower. You will save time and water. And exactly how much water? 106 gallons a week! So think about it and try to do that at least once or twice a month. It won't hurt, but it will actually help!

 You see. We can make a difference. Please remember that this is very important  and one person can do a lot! Water is important and without it we will die. Do you think that governments should adopt better water conservation policies or should it be up to each individual? Please leave your questions and comments! Thank you!

Anuja

Deforestation- Harmful or Not?

Deforestation. Another great danger to Mother Nature. What is it, though? Deforestation is to clear an area of forests or trees. Now if you think about it, trees produce Oxygen right? They suck up CO2 that we breathe out and use it to make Oxygen. Did you know that one tree can absorb up to 13 lbs. of CO2 a year? And who gets the benefits from this? HUMANS DO! Without Oxygen we couldn't even survive. And if you noticed that Deforestation means, "to clear an area of forest or trees", then we need to do something about it!
Deforestation is one of the main causes of the greenhouse effect. It is responsible for about 20% of the world's greenhouse gas transmissions, or transporting the gases to other places.
Some of the main causes of Deforestation are Logging, Mining, Oil and Gas extraction, cattle ranching, and Agricultural cash crops. Now that's a lot of reasons why Deforestation is occurring on our planet. It's time for us to think out of the box and realize what mistakes we are doing for ourselves and the next generation. If we have the chance right now to make everything better, then why don't we? There is a quote from the United Kingdom newspaper known as the "Times newspaper" that says, "if we lose the battle against tropical deforestation, we lose the battle against climate change."
There is a method of Deforestation called, "Slash and Burn." Slash and Burn is one method that makes no sense to me at all. Here is the easy but harmful procedure. Farmers cut down trees in one area of a rain forest or deciduous forest. Then they ignite the dead trees so that they will break down and create chemical nutrients. The chemical nutrients fertilize the soil which farmers then grow crops on for a short period of time- maybe a year or two. But then, the nutrients start to decrease, which leaves the soil empty and unable to grow crops. And then that land is wasted.
Deforestation mainly takes place in the rain-forests or deciduous forests. Now if you cut down all of the trees in those forests, your not just taking away trees but also many other plants and animals! Animals and plants also help humans survive. Deforestation is also disturbing the food chain!
Did you know that every second 2.4 acres of forests are cut down, which is equal to  two U.S. football fields! And then every minute, 149 acres! Every day, 214,000 acres! Which is equal to an area larger than New York City! And every week, you wouldn't even want to imagine this horrible number. 78 million acres of forests are cut down and destroyed every week! That's an area even larger than Poland! That's what I call a disaster!
So everyone, please do not treat this issue like nothing. It contains many valuable resources.
Tell your friends about this and maybe it will get to someone that will really make a great deal about it. Take care of trees and realize that they are very very VERY important resources. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think about this global issue. Is it harmful or not to you? Thank you everyone and have a nice day!


Anuja

Our next issue!

Hi Everyone! I just wanted to let you know that our next issue will be Deforestation. I will be posting something about it in a few days! So please make sure to stop by and write your opinion about this issue!

Anuja