Genetic Engineering

Dealing with the topic of "Genetic Engineering", the first thing our course did was work on the definition of cloning. "A clone is an organism or a group of organisms, derived from another organism by a nonsexual reproductive process." "Well, what is that supposed to mean?" was the general question. Most people have heard about the famous sheep Dolly, which is the best example of a successfully cloned organism, but there are many more aspects to this topic. We split up in groups and worked on those we thought to be the most important. Some pupils asked questions like "Could cloning be used to create super-warriors / save endangered species / help gay couples to have a 'child of their own' ?" Others were concerned about the legal aspects of cloning and found out that due to varying ethical and moral attitudes throughout the world, there is no clear definition of whether or not cloning is a legal act. While one of our groups kept itself busy by looking for answers concerning the identity of the new clone ("Is the clone the same person it was cloned from, does it have a right of his own will, is it going to have the same experiences and opinions as has his original?"), another group wrote a play, trying to imagine what reasons people might have for being for or against cloning.