Scientific American

According to “12 Events that will change Everything,” an article in the latest issue of Scientific American, the cloning of humans will likely happen before 2050. How likely? This article contemplates “12 possibilities and rate their likelihood of happening by 2050” (36) and use the following scale: Very unlikely, Unlikely, 50-50, Likely, and Almost certain. We shall then prepare ourselves to meet our Mini-Me(s).

The author, Charles Q. Choi, suggests that since the cloning of Dolly, the further step is inevitably the cloning of humans. However, Choi recognizes, like most scientists would, that the procedure is not only more complex with humans, but also raise some ethical concerns. Should we, for example, clone someone without her consent?

Nonetheless, human cloning would have some advantages and new possibilities. A clone might have a better life as she could learn from her old ‘self.’ If someone learns at only 25 that she is talented in music, she could tell her 5 year old clone to take music lessons. Moreover, extinct species like the Neanderthal could be revived.

Finally, Choi recognizes that the ‘yuck’ factor can play a major role in human cloning.  We might find the idea of cloning ourselves disturbing now, the same way we did with IVF.  But in a few years, we might not even think much about it.

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