Frances Tracy C.

Pasicolan

BS Management- Block B

Biology I- A

How to Build a Human: Creation (BBC Documentary) Summary: We are setting into a fantastic voyage. A journey into inner space. A journey into the world of our cells because this is where our future lays inside each one of us. Never before can we navigate this microscopic universe or view it so clearly At the heart of each cell is DNA, a substance that builds every living creature in this planet. And not only can we read our own DNA, we can manipulate it. The future is here now It promises to rebuild broken lines. Cells will be engineered to grow new organ. It heralds the brave new world of prediction- superhuman with unhuman abilities; the hope of extended life, a true elixir of youth.1 Four billions years ago, all cells are single-celled. It multiplied through cloning itself. Cloning is making an identical copy of itself. Sarah Waddington will give birth for an identical triplet. The triplet occur from the process of cloning- natural cloning, the embryo made an identical copy of itself. With the advancement in science and technology, biologists and doctors can now manipulate genes. Doctors make use of cloning. One of them is Dr. Jose Cibelli (Vice President of Research, ACT- Advanced Cell Technology), who wants to clone a human embryo. According to him, it is not to create a human being but to repair damaged people. He calls it therapeutic cloning, a revolutionary medicine that can transform the lives of many people especially the ones with sickness and disease. Doctors make use of cloned stem cells to create human tissues which are essential for human organs. Doctor Anthony Atala (Doctor of Tissue Engineering, Childrens Hospital, Boston) have been growing body organs which he tested in animals. In the near future, he thinks that these built organs will be available. Human embryo has the capacity to grow and develop because of embryonic stem cell. Stem cells alone can transform themselves into any cells. He will need a stem cell from Dr. Judson Somerville, who had broken his back from an accident (his spine is only supported by steelpin), to grow into spinal tissues. To get stem cells, one must grow a human embryo. To create human embryo, Dr. Cibelli need an egg and only one cell from Dr. Judson. He removed the nucleus of the egg and

The introductory line from BBCs documentary film, How to Build a Human: Creation Mosley, M. (Executive Producer), & Marshall, J. (Producer and Director). (n.d.) How to build a human: Creation (BBC). United Kingdom: Jill Fullerton- Smith Production.

implanted one only cell of Dr. Judson into the egg. He used electric shock to fertilize the egg instead of sperm. If it works, it will divide. Dr. Cibelli had injected 30-40 eggs with the same DNA but nothing happened. By October 21, the egg had successfully divided- the first cloned human embryo. But the egg has 6 cells only. In order to get stem cells, he will need to grow an embryo with at least 50 cells. With this achievement, it is only the beginning for Dr. Cibelli and for other doctors, biologists and scientists because the future of science is unpredictable.

Reaction:

Through the advancement in science and technology, scientists and even biologists

have found a way to manipulate our genes. Prof. Lee Silver (Molecular Biologist, Princeton University) said in the documentary that through these developments, not only can we understand our genes, we can also manipulate and change it. Change ourselves and change human being in every way we can imagine. Sir Paul Nurse (Cell Biologist) also said that we can now do things that people cannot imagine before. And because of this, some people are uncomfortable with what biologists and doctors can do. Dr. Jose Cibelli (Vice President of Research, ACT- Advanced Cell Technology) planned on cloning human embryo. For him, cloning human embryo is not to create humans but to repair damaged people. But people see that cloning still has its pros and cons. Cloning human embryo is a therapeutic cloning for the doctors- a revolutionary medicine that will transform and give benefits to many people especially those who are sick. Cloning human embryo is done to acquire stem cells. Human embryo is able to grow and develop on its own because of the presence of stem cells. Through stem cells, biologists and even doctors can build tissues which are essential for organs. Just like Dr. Anthony Atala (Doctor of Tissue Engineering, Childrens Hospital, Boston) who had been growing organs which were made from stem cells. These clone-built organs can provide treatment for those who are sick and those who need transplant. He said that this treatment is going to be available in the near future. The good effect of cloning human embryo for stem cells is that it can provide treatment for those who are sick. It can transform the lives of so many people (just like Dr. Judson, who has a broken spine due to an accident, and Jimmy, a seven years old kid, who has an involuntary muscle and has the mental ability of a baby). It will cause these people to go back to a normal living, being able to do activities which they normally do before without the burden of sickness and disease. The bad effect of cloning human embryo for stem cells is that a parent of dying child or a parent of a dead child might resort to cloning his child just to bring him back to life. An hour

after death, a persons cell is still alive. According to Prof. John Burn (Clinical Geneticist, New Castle University), a clone might look the same but it can never have the samwhich is e influence of environment. The outside world has an impact on a person development. A human is a combination of nature and nurture. For me, bringing back someone who has been dead is somehow immoral because it is already time to let go of him/her. Cloning a dead persons cell is different from a miracle, Gods way of restoring or saving a life. With this, it will only decrease the mortality rate which might be bad in an economy. Through the new discoveries and new developments, science and technology has greatly influenced and affected our means of living in all aspects. What was once impossible might be possible someday. May it be for the improvement or degradation of life. We never knew, because someday, the predictions and visions of future were there would be superhuman with unhuman abilities, and immortality might happen.

Reference: Mosley, M. (Executive Producer), & Marshall, J. (Producer and Director). (n.d.) How to build a human: Creation (BBC). United Kingdom: Jill Fullerton- Smith Production.