Conference quark::mennotes

    What about using cells from the Shroud of Turin???

    
    
    Lois Armstrong,  Buddy Holly, Billy Holiday!
    
                                         Bill

    

    Nobody.  A bad person you not want cloned, and the cloning of the good
    person diminishes the value of the accomplishments of the good person.
    One Louis Armstrong is a treasure.  But how about two or a hundred
    or a thousand.  Besides, if you did clone Louis, there's nothing to 
    say that he would be able to, or even have the desire to, honk a
    single note.

    Despite the self-delusions of royalties, genetic diversity is the 
    key to survival of a species.  Even a common cold has at some time
    been a deadly disease to the human race, but a few were able to
    survive and propagate.  Even AIDS has had a few survivors.  How many
    have been infected and never contracted the disease we will probably
    never know.

    fred();

    
    I want to see George Rauh cloned. Then I want his clone to write a
    spell-checker routine and run some of George's notes through it.
    
    -john  ;>)

    EEEEeuuuuu!! Johnnybegood! SPel? Meee? I can spel vrye wull. Caint U?:)
    

    George
    
    I gotta laugh every time I see one of your replies that start off with
    Whelp!  I think that's some kind of canine term...???
    

    Whoof! Yelp! Wimper! Whelp!:)
    
    

    

    As is shown by identical twins, genetic copies do not necessarily have
    identical brains or characters.  A clone of someone like Louis 
    Armstrong or Mother Teresa would most certainly not live up to the
    billing of the predecessor.  What would it do to the memory of 
    Albert Einstein if his clone turned out to be a child molester?

    fred();

    
    A clone is different that an identical twin, though. A human being has
    never been cloned. We cannot tell how the brain of a clone would differ
    from that of the donor.

    
>    A clone is different that an identical twin, though. A human being has
>    never been cloned. We cannot tell how the brain of a clone would differ
>    from that of the donor.

    An identical twin, like a clone, is an exact genetic copy of the other.
    The only difference is that one is "natural" while the other is
    artificial.    However, there have been studies of the parallels
    in the lives of identical twins even when they have not grown up
    together, as in adoption.  On the other hand there can also be very
    profound differences in the lives of identical twins as well.

    To assume that a clone of Louis Armstrong would also be able to play
    the trumpet anywhere as near as well as the original would mean
    that we are totally controlled by our genetics and not in any way
    by environment or life experience.

    fred();

    Fred
    
    Thanks for reinforcing what I've already said. I didn't include the
    influence of environment, etc., because  that should be intuitively
    obvious to the most casual observer.
    
    I don't know if what you say is true; that a clone and an identical
    twin are equal/ I'm not a geneticist, but my intuition says that you
    are wrong.
    
    Whatever. There is no proof one way or the other that a clone of Louie
    Armstrong would be equal, inferior, or superior in musical ability. We
    will hopefully live and learn.
    
    -john

    
    re.8
    
    This statement is totally unfounded, that a clone of M.Theresa or
    whomever would certainly not live up to the billing of the predecessor.
    How can you say this with any degree of certainty?
    
    -john

    
    >  I don't know if what you say is true; that a clone and an identical
    >    twin are equal/ I'm not a geneticist, but my intuition says that
    >   you are wrong.
     
    Twins 101:
    Identical twins are created when the embryo, at it's first division
    from one cell to two, instead of splitting into two cells, splits
    into two separate embryos.  Thus Identical twins are exact genetic
    copies of each other.  Fraternal twins are two separate eggs, 
    fertilized separately, to start with.

>    This statement is totally unfounded, that a clone of M.Theresa or
>    whomever would certainly not live up to the billing of the predecessor.
>    How can you say this with any degree of certainty?

    As you mentioned, environment and experience makes probably a more
    substantial impact on what a person is than genetics.  In my own
    life I can think of at least half a dozen decisions I made that if
    I had made any one of them the other way, or even if I had not traveled
    some of the very painful roads I have walked, how different my life and I 
    would be today.  How many hundreds other are there that I cannot name
    or even realize that were.  I can imagine that the character of Mother 
    Teresa would require a set of experiences and life that would be 
    impossible to re-create.

    fred();

    Over the weekend the chapel where the Shroud of Turin is located
    burned.  The Shroud was rescued.  Suppose the Shroud really is the
    burial shroud of Jesus of Nazareth (under investigation).  There are 
    reported to be blood stains on the shroud.  Could Jesus of Nazareth be 
    cloned?  If so....

    Mind boggling.

    fred();

    Fred,
    
    When you come right down to it, Jesus of Nazareth WAS a clone...

    
    >    When you come right down to it, Jesus of Nazareth WAS a clone...

    True, but _what if_, ala Jurasic Park, that someone could take blood
    from the Shroud and........Talk about your mega religious dilemmas.

    fred();

    Somebody call Spielberg.
    

    Hitchcock was the first one that came to mind for me...;-)