Saturday, June 03, 2006

Clones are not the same

Today's silly misunderstanding of cloning comes from the New York Times:
Anyone trying to select a winner at the mule races this weekend in Winnemucca, Nev., will no doubt have a hard time choosing between Idaho Gem and Idaho Star. They may have different names, but they are not necessarily different mules.

Idaho Gem and Idaho Star are clones. They are two of three mules who were born in 2003 as the result of a cloning project at the University of Idaho and Utah State University.
No, no, no! This is like saying "Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen may have different names, but they are not necessarily different people." The two mules, like the Olsen twins or any other identical twins, merely share their DNA. This doesn't mean they're the same mule. This misunderstanding pops up quite a lot (especially with journalists trying to get a nice "twist" on the story for an eye-catching lead) and it's really quite pernicious as it distorts the debate about reproductive cloning.

37 Comments:

Blogger driftwood said...

Do you think this is just an issue of poorly understood science, or do you think there might be various odd religious ideas afoot as well? At least in the human case, there seem to be people that are using the genome as a physical proxy for supernatural ideas like souls. I hear anti-abortionists emphasizing the genetic uniqueness a new embryo. They bring this up both in attacks on abortion and on embryo using research. They seem to think that this accords the embryo some special status, but they never explain why being different is worth anything. My suspicion is what they are really thinking is that it now has its own unique soul. I don’t know if that is really what they are up to since they don’t make that claim. Perhaps they realize that it is an unsupportable opinion that they have no argument for.

In the case of christians at least, they probably don’t believe critters like mules have “souls”. But maybe they believe in a related supernatural essence for these other animals. If so, they would be inclined to believe that two mules with the same genes would have to have the same essence.

Your thoughts?

6/03/2006 11:15:00 PM  
Blogger Andrew said...

Yes, I've heard this weird argument as well. They seem not to realize that in fact even the genome is not defined at the moment of conception. Immune cells undergo permanent rearrangements of the genome in order to create antibody diversity. Then there's the "epigenome" of methylation, histone modifications, etc. that even begin to differ between identical twins. Plus obviously the subject of this post, identical twins (as if twins each have half a soul or something?). I think that's just anti-abortion people trying to give a bit of scientific patina to the argument that a soul is infused at the moment of conception (which is itself not a moment, as it takes a few hours for the sperm and egg to fuse their nuclei).

And, yes it is poorly understood science, but poorly understood for deeper reasons, even more general than specific religious ideas. I think people have deep-seated intuitions that living things have hidden essences, which is probably how the whole idea of souls got started in the first place.* So even people who aren't really religious are vulnerable to this misunderstanding, since the genome is such a convenient representation of this hidden essence. The reality, that your personal identity is a complicated combination of proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, neural firing patterns, and synaptic connections, isn't as appealing or intuitive.

*I remember reading about a study where children were asked what would happen if you "modified" animals or objects. If you showed them a hammer and said you were going to take off the metal part and whittle the wood into a sculpture, they would say it wasn't a hammer anymore, but a sculpture. But if you took a dog and replaced all its dog parts with cat parts, the kids were convinced that even though it looked like a cat, it was still "really" a dog - i.e. it retained its dog essence.

6/04/2006 10:25:00 PM  
Blogger driftwood said...

That study with the animal essences sounds really interesting. If I did such research, I would want to push into less people like animals. Snakes? Worms?

We also have a problem with whether people are really the “same” in an appropriate sense their whole lives. For instance, does it make sense to prosecute a ninety-year-old man for war crimes committed when he was an ardent young Nazi living in a very different world? Hard to get traction on a question like that, so maybe we just let simplified ideas of the genome and the like do the extra work.

6/04/2006 11:11:00 PM  
Blogger Andrew said...

This may not apply directly to war crimes cases, but in general there is a deterrence rationale for prosecuting even reformed criminals (e.g., murder unsolved for 30 years is finally solved due to DNA evidence, but the murderer repented 20 years ago and became a priest) - you should be equally deterred by the threat of someday going to jail whether or not you have undergone a drastic personality change before getting caught. For the "elderly Nazi" case, I'm persuaded by Mark Kleiman's argument that retributive justice has value in that it restores the social status of the victims of the war crimes, by affirming that they are worth avenging. [which would justify punishing the elderly Nazi where incapacitation and deterrence would not.]

In a way, there are already legal means of exculpation on the grounds that you weren't "the same person" when you committed the crime - e.g. temporary insanity. Of course this is more specific - you have to show that at the time of the crime you didn't know that what you were doing was wrong.

6/08/2006 08:28:00 AM  
Blogger driftwood said...

Yes, Kleiman’s argument seems reasonable and puts the individual case into a larger social framework which certainly seems to be the right way to look at genocide. But I don’t buy the deterrence argument for general crime at all. People discount their futures, and 20 or 30 years out, that discount will be steep. I would guess that the effect of such deterrence would be so slight that it would be drowned out in the noise of any attempt to ever measure it.

6/10/2006 08:35:00 PM  
Blogger Andrew said...

True, a 20-30 year discount is pretty steep. That might be part of the reason why we have a statute of limitations on many crimes. But I think a "character change" basis for clemency does undermine deterrence at shorter timespans. I mean, what if you believed you could get off scot-free for murder if, for example, you spend two months at a drug rehab center and afterwards are no longer the "same" person who committed the crime? After all, drastic character changes are correlated with the passage of time, but some people do have drastic character changes in short periods of time while others remain essentially the same over their entire lives.

6/12/2006 09:40:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is better to try cloning with animals..its all good.. funny watching animals like that...But its better not to try with human-beings.There are some talks like some of the scientists already start experimenting with human beings..
AA Breakdown Cover

5/11/2007 04:42:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I consider the idea of cloning people awful. I think no one will be happy to see a person looking and behaving the way he is doing. The twins is quite another thing.

8/21/2007 06:13:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

People discount their futures, and 20 or 30 years out, that discount will be steep. I would guess that the effect of such deterrence would be so slight that it would be drowned out in the noise of any attempt to ever measure it.

12/24/2007 09:16:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

and 20 or 30 years out, that discount will be steep. I would guess that the effect of such deterrence would be so slight that it would be drowned out in the noise of any attempt to ever measure it.

3/15/2008 12:45:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Play free game kanser youtube video directory oyun adult porno sex shop image hosting
japan auto store ara utube ytube video share online games adult

Kanser -
Akciğer Kanseri -
Rahim Kanseri -
Lenf Kanseri -
Mide Kanseri -
Yumurtalık Kanseri -

Play game -
Play mario -
sim taxi -
Play game -
Adult games -
Play game -
Play game -
Youtube video

Play action games -
Play arcade games -
Play casino games -
Play misc games -
Play puzzle games -
Play game -
Play shooting games -
Play sport games -

About everything -
you tube video -
Hediye -
Play free game kanser youtube video directory oyun adult porno sex shop image hosting
japan auto store ara mario games erotik fantazi fantezi iç giyim utube ytube tube
video share online games adult
Porn tube

Japan autos -
Alışveriş -
Sex shop -
Image hosting -
Image hosting -
Porn Video -
Porno Video -
Play free game kanser youtube video directory oyun adult porno sex shop image hosting
japan auto store ara mario games erotik fantazi fantezi iç giyim utube ytube
video share online games adult tube
Porn tube
Porn Video -
Youtube Video -
Sex Shop -
Sex Shop, Kozmetik -
erotik iç giyim -
Sex Shop -
Video Hosting -
Porn Video -
Hediye -
porno -
Directory -
Directory

Play free game kanser youtube video directory oyun adult porno sex shop image hosting
japan auto store ara mario games erotik fantazi fantezi iç giyim utube ytube
video share online games adult tube

5/14/2008 10:57:00 PM  
Blogger Mahfot MH said...

Hi,

I'm not surprised if people still misunderstand this. You know what, our prime minister here in M******A (too shy to mention) even said that DNA can be expired (in his answer upon the need of taking another DNA sample from our late Deputy Prime Minister, when the DNA sample that has been taken from him last 10 years is still there with the police). So what? LOL.

By,

THE littmann lightweight ii se stethoscope TEAM

7/28/2008 07:26:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is nice review.

Cheers,
Perniagaan Internet | Rahsia Internet | Cari Duit Diinternet | Pemasaran Internet | Cari Duit Online

2/22/2009 11:19:00 AM  
Anonymous Tamara Jones said...

It's somewhat irritating seeing yourself not in a mirror but with another person. An identical twin only the same with physical features, but different in attitude. A clone looks and act the same as you, as it refers to process of duplicating something that already exist. Cloning have been done for decades, though mostly are through plants and animals. Never seen one though. Casablanca Ceiling Fans

12/04/2009 03:46:00 PM  
Anonymous Step by Step Golf Swing said...

Hi there, clone and twins definitely different. Sheep clone I think is good but man is no good...

Cheers,
Step by step Golf Swing

1/02/2010 10:26:00 AM  
Anonymous Warcraft Startegy Guru said...

this is pretty interesting. Thanks!

4/02/2010 03:57:00 PM  
Anonymous discount prescription drugs said...

Viagra side effects - Amongst sildenafil's rare but serious

adverse effects are: priapism, severe hypotension, myocardial infarction, ventricular arrhythmias, stroke and increased intraocular

pressure. Common side effects include sneezing, headache, flushing, dyspepsia, palpitations and photophobia.

Most detailed generic and brand Viagra price comparison tables

in the net.

Generic Viagra (Sildenafil Citrate) belongs to a group of medicines

that delay the enzymes called phosphodiesterases from working too quickly. The penis is one of the areas where these enzymes work.

Viagra is used to treat men who have erectile dysfunction (also called sexual impotence). Sildenafil Citrate is an oral drug for male impotence, also known as erectile

dysfunction (ED). It works by dilating blood vessels in the penis, allowing the inflow of blood needed for an erection.

Sildenafil citrate (viagra) is a drug used to treat male erectile dysfunction (impotence)

and ulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Viagra is developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Viagra's primary competitors on

the market are tadalafil (Cialis), and vardenafil (Levitra).

If you are constantly squeezing your budget to buy the you need than you might want to consider purchasing online. Compare prices

before you buy. Original Pfizer Viagra. Ends all your Problems from top-rated Health & Beauty Supplies stores. Low price Viagra, Cialis, Levitra online non prescription.

Discount generic viagra, generic viagra, discount viagra, generic viagra

discount, discounted viagra, discounted generic viagra, cheap viagra, cheap generic viagra, order viagra, order generic viagra, viagra

alternative, viagra sale and viagra pills online.

4/27/2010 01:28:00 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

mide kanseri mide kanseri belirtileri evreleri
Mide Kanseri | Mide Kanseri belirtileri | Mide Kanseri tedavisi | Mide Kanseri belirtileri nelerdir | Mide Kanseri nedir | Mide Kanseri evreleri | Mide Kanseri kemoterapi
mide kanseri mide kanseri evreleri mide kanseri tedavisi

10/29/2010 08:21:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The latter, Web 2.0, is not defined as a static architecture. Web 2.0 can be generally characterized as a common set of architecture and design patterns, which can be implemented in multiple contexts. bu sitede en saglam pornolar izlenir.The list of common patterns includes the Mashup, Collaboration-Participation, Software as a Service (SaaS), Semantic Tagging (folksonomy), and Rich User Experience (also known as Rich Internet Application) patterns among others. These are augmented with themes for software architects such as trusting your users and harnessing collective intelligence. Most Web 2.0 architecture patterns rely on Service Oriented Architecture in order to function

11/03/2010 01:05:00 PM  
Anonymous price per head said...

I am thoroughly convinced in this said post. I am currently searching for ways in which I could enhance my knowledge in this said topic you have posted here

7/04/2012 02:01:00 AM  
Blogger nestedpcr said...

Roles of Apigenin in Cancer Prevention
Apigenin in Damiana Kills Breast Cancer Cells
Products of Indonesian stingless bee kill human cancer cell lines
Combined apigenin and barasertib treatment can manage cetuximab resistance
Apigenin protects neuronal injury in differentiated PC12 cells
Beer contains 47 polyphenols including apigenin

10/19/2014 08:45:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Accounting classes are taught in progressive levels starting with an introduction course, then progressing to advanced accounting and specialized subjects. Classes cover topics in business transactions, accounts receivable and inverstments. Accounting standards, such as Financial Accounting Standards, are also taught. helpful resources

6/08/2015 05:31:00 PM  
Anonymous Sophia said...

I completely agree they are hard!

6/06/2017 05:49:00 AM  
Blogger گلنار جودی said...

it is very interesting and full of information بواسیر
هموروئید
درمان هموروئید با لیزر
درمان بواسیر با لیزر
درمان شقاق

فیستول
درمان فیستول
علائم فیستول
درمان فیستول با لیزر

7/24/2018 01:45:00 PM  
Blogger گلنار جودی said...

بواسیر سیاهرگ های آماس کرده هستند که در بخش انتهایی راست روده و مقعد ایجاد می شوند. گاهی دیواره این رگ های خونی انقدر نازک می شود که متورم شده و به ویژه در زمان دفع، دچار خارش میگردند.برای
درمان بواسیر با لیزر نمی توان قیمت مشخصی را اعلام کرد. دکتر بواسیر را بررسی و معاینه می کند و بر اساس میزان رشد و وضعیت بیماری اعلام قیمت می کند.شقاق (فیشر) ترک و یا زخمی است که در مقعد ایجاد می شود. این ترک بسیار دردناک است و اغلب با خون ریزی همراه است. علت ایجاد این بیماری در افراد، متفاوت می باشد. کیست مویی در بیشتر موارد یک بیماری ژنتیک است که طی آن موهای ناحیه انتهای ستون فقرات یا در اصطلاح عامه مردم دنبالچه، به جای آن که از سمت ریشه به سمت پوست حرکت داشته باشد و بیرون بزند؛ چنانچه ارتباط نامتعادل و غیرعادی به صورت یک لوله، بین اندام ها و یا رگی که دارای بافت پوششی است ایجاد شود، عارضه ای به نام فیستول ایجاد می شود. می توان گفت بهترین راه
درمان فیستول با لیزر می باشد

7/25/2018 05:56:00 AM  
Anonymous Accounting Homework Help said...

I’m Really Impressed With Your Article, Such Great & Usefull Knowledge You Mentioned Here

8/04/2018 05:24:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

myself michael justice.iam a health advisor at Rxnrx.com is an online pharmacy store where you can get all type of erectile dysfunction or impotency meds which can help u to improve your bed stamina or ejaculation time.we deal with generic viagra,generic cialis,kamagra,levitra,super p force ,female viagra and lots of product with cheap and great quality.pls visit my website for more information.
cialis 20mg https://www.rxnrx.com/cialis.html

8/30/2018 11:29:00 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Excellent! I appreciate your input to this matter. It has been insightful. my blog: half marathon training schedule happy anniversary to son and daughter in law

11/21/2018 06:48:00 PM  
Blogger Appsquadz said...

I took keen interest in reading this blog. The blog was interesting, valuable content was given which is easily readable & understood. I too have a reference of one of the top android app development company where experts are highly compatible and provide unique solutions.

2/21/2019 10:56:00 AM  
Anonymous assignment help said...

It is nice to read such high-quality content. It is a good article that discusses the topic at hand quite well. I am looking forward to read more articles from your site. Keep up the good work.

3/01/2019 04:55:00 AM  
Blogger Ajay Sharma said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

11/20/2019 09:45:00 AM  
Blogger Ajay Sharma said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss and share it with us. I wish more people would read this. We have an expert development team with over 12+ years of experience, if you have any requirements regarding Flutter App Development then you can contact us at +1-877-659-9068.

11/27/2019 01:17:00 PM  
Blogger rufus said...

Get Info regarding tramadol soma (carisoprodol) generic viagra cialis

Platform for getting the reliable information regarding generic viagra,cialis, soma(carisoprodol),and pain relief medicine tramadol from tramadolgenericviagra.com-bywww.tramadolgenericviagra.com

2/27/2020 10:35:00 AM  
Blogger cliftondock said...


Bigg Boss 14 Live, Bigg Boss 14 Watch Full Episods, The Bigg Boss 14 Is A Reality Show. By The Colors Tv, Watch Bigg Boss 14 Live Latest Episode Bigg Boss 14 Live Streaming On Voot

Bigg Boss 14 Show
==================================================

8/14/2020 01:13:00 PM  
Anonymous buy drug without prescription said...

We provide genuine brands in USA and Canada at affordable rates and in very less time and you get complete secrecy in our service.

6/09/2022 10:21:00 AM  
Anonymous 먹튀검증 said...

Fastidious respond in return of this question with
solid arguments and explaining all concerning that. 먹튀검증

11/04/2022 12:10:00 PM  
Blogger Getting Payment Gateways in Europe said...

Need a reliable solution for high risk transactions? WebPays offers top high risk merchant accounts tailored to your needs. Our easy-to-use accounts come with fast approvals and secure processing, ensuring smooth transactions for your business. Benefit from competitive rates and expert support designed for high-risk industries. Choose WebPays for the best high risk merchant solutions and keep your payments running smoothly.

9/13/2024 10:25:00 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home