GMO Is Helpful Or Harmful?

GMO is helpful or harmful ?

Genetically modified foods are seen by many as the answer to the challenges posed by population growth and climate change. But the question still remain, whether they are safe or not.  These are some of the promises that biotechnology have promised:  Rice with built-in Vitamin A that can help prevent blindness in 100 million children suffering from Vitamin A deficiency, A tomato that softens more slowly, allowing it to develop longer on the vine and keep longer on the shelf;  Potatoes that absorb less fat when fried, changing the ever-popular French fries from junk food into a more nutritional food; Strawberry crops that can survive frost.

Many agricultural scientists and food policy specialists view GM crops as an important element in sustainable food security and environmental management.

GM supporters tell all the farmers that they will get an enormous profit from growing GM crops. Farmers could spray these crops with herbicide to kill the weeds, without killing the crops, which means a reduction on spending money on pesticides. And it takes shorter time to produce a desired product.

Genetic modified fruits and plants are better quality than the plant breeding one. Besides, animals could also be modified to be leaner, grow faster, and need less food, leading to improved productivity for farmers and costs ultimately lower for the consumer. They could modify them to have special characteristics, such as for cows to produce greater milk.Modified crops for animals to eat can help farmers eventually. They could perhaps prevent outbreaks such as foot or mouth disease which has devastated many farmers. Also, biotechnology companies are even experimenting with crops that can be modify to be drought and salt-tolerant, or less reliant on fertilizer.

There has been lots of concern about the safety of GM foods, since some crops are modified using the DNA from viruses and bacteria. Will we see a new disease emerge?

People who have allergies are the one whose very concern about their food supply, particularly about the proteins in their food. Most allergies are caused by the human immune system reacting to specific proteins, such as those found in nuts, fish, or eggs. And this is where GM food is really concern to allergen, because if a protein form nuts, for example, were inserted into a common food crop, and people who are allergic to nuts would not be able to eat the altered food. If they try to, it can cause a dangerous or even fatal immune reaction.  

Changing plants may have long lasting effects on the other organism in the ecosystem, but the change in plant itself may cause it to be toxic to an insect or animal that uses it as its main food source. Insects may be become resistant to the genetic due to the widespread use of insect resistant genes in crops. This would lead to a widespread loss of crops and plants that have the natural immunity and leading to a loss in biodiversity.

A huge concern is that genetic modification could cause allergies in humans due to gene modification of plants. People may find that they are now allergic to other food products – people because they contain a gene from the allergen they have. One example is the use of a Brazilian nut gene in corn.

The genetic modification could cause allergies in humans due to gene modification of plants. People may find that they are now allergic to other food products because they contain a gene from the allergen they have. One example is the use of a Brazilian nut gene in corn.

The disadvantages of GM foods are more than the advantages. Hence, GM  food are harmful to us as human.

Written By

Khoo Siew Ling

Is Cell phone a necessity at school?

Is Cell phone a necessity at school?

           There had been a widespread popularity of modern communication technology in our society. In today's world everyone relies heavily upon modern technology for communication. A cell phone is one of the most popular resources of modern technology. In an enlightened society, cell phones are no longer a luxury but a very basic need of every person.

           In my opinion, I do not agree student to bring cell phone to school. The problem is that if student can use the phone then, they will not pay attention on the lesson. Since there's no way to really control cell phone usage and limit it to certain times, many schools just tell students to leave the cell phones at home. Our country education department also put a strict order that we are not allowed to bring cell phone to school.

          Nowadays cell phones can be addictive, and again cell phones can be a distraction in the classroom. When they having a discussion at school, it would be highly annoying for someone to get their cell phone out and start texting, or uploading their status on the various social networking websites. Some of the students use short message service (SMS) and forgot to turn off their cell phone during class. Even if set to silent, cell phones can still cause distraction, since text messaging has become a high-tech method of passing notes in school. Besides that, ringing cell phones can also disrupt classes and distract students who should be paying attention to their lessons.

           In addition, cell phones can be used as cheating devices during exams. Students can share information during exams. They can also store any information they want on their cell phone. The latest cell phones with cameras could be used to take photos of exams, and send it to others, and get a text back with the answer. The calculator function can be downloaded from the apps in the cell phone and used to cheat on math tests.

           Camera phones are very popular it can be used to take pictures. Sometimes they used in an inappropriate way in schools, for example in bathroom that would be embarrassing to the subject and post them on the web. Not every family can afford to buy one for their children, because it is quite expensive.  These factors often lead to cell phone theft. It is possible a student might have a BlackBerry Bold and another just another old Nokia model. And this could lead to status issues within friends.

          In a nutshell, students are not allowed to bring cell phone to school. The students are not always being used for educational purposes, but instead we see a negative side. As the old adage goes, “if you give an inch, they’ll take a mile”,

   Written by

Khoo Siew Ling

Should Human Clone Be Allowed?

Should Human Clone Be Allowed?

            Should humans be cloned? That is the question that many people all over the world have been debating. Some say it is morally wrong, that we would be nefariously attempting to "Play the role of God." At the present time the science has achieved such high level of the development that it became possible to clone not only the cells but the whole organisms. If the law allowed human cloning, it would not only save lives, but it would lead to a number of advancements in scientific research, and improve the quality of life.

          Human cloning would be a positive harbinger for mankind, and an excellent opportunity for the advancement of science. In the past century, scientists have been assiduous workers in making numerous achievements, discoveries, and inventions, giving us the knowledge we have acquired about ourselves and about the world around us. For years, scientists have studied and made tremendous progress in cloning. If cloning research was legal we could find better treatments and perhaps even cures for many terrible diseases that so many of us suffer and die from each year. For example, AIDS. This is a well-known illness that damages the human immune system. There are treatments available, but statistics show that three million people die from AIDS each year, and yet so far, no one has been able to find a cure. With cloning, scientists could copy and create more white blood cells to fight off and kill the deadly virus. This would save millions of innocent lives and also help in making new medical discoveries and expand our knowledge.

          Clones would be the best organ donors. Imagine your mother suddenly gets cancer in her kidneys and she needs to have a transplant. Assuming you love your mother and would do anything for her, you decide to be her donor. Then after the operation, her body rejects the new, foreign organ, and the kidney fails. The doctor says that the only way she would survive would be to find a kidney with the same type of tissue as her original, healthy tissue. The solution to your mother's problem and the answer to your prayers would be cloning. Because a clone is an exact copy, she would have no worries about her body accepting the organ or not. This would be the only way to save her. But there is just one problem, cloning humans is not legal.  

          Furthermore, cloning would save many lives the use of cloning would also aid in the creation of life. Infertile and homosexual couples would be able to use their own DNA to produce children.  If the husband were the source of the DNA and the wife provided the donor egg that received the nuclear transfer, the infertile couple would have a child biologically related to each of them rather than using anonymous gamete or embryo donation. New cloning technology would also prevent the transmission of genetic disease.  Doctors could use advanced forms of gene therapy to treat embryos at high risk of inheriting genetic diseases. The modified DNA from the embryo could be transferred to eggs to create children entirely free of the genetic disease. Therefore, cloning would promote life and fulfill the desires of many couples to have children.  This advancement in reproduction would aid society by giving more people the opportunity to live and contribute to society.

          Additionally, a handful of wary people say that cloning is unethical and would be deleterious to the human race. They say that there should only be one of each person in this world, because our individuality is what makes each person special and unique. I too believe that our individuality is what makes us special. So what do these people say about identical twins? It is proven that twins have the same genetic information. That would mean that twins are not unique or special individuals. Their minds, personalities, health, and fitness grow and change depending on how they are raised, the things they are exposed to and the activities they become interested in. Clones would be just like twins. The only difference being that the twin is born later. It would be impossible for a clone to grow up to be exactly like his original. He would be brought up differently, have different life experiences, and have relationships entirely unique to that person.

          Lastly, human cloning would be entirely beneficial for science, and the quality of life, in addition to helping the prosperity of the human race. It would save, create, and improve lives all over the world. Human cloning would help the human race, the world of science, and the age of technology. The government would be blind not to see the benefits and allow human cloning.

          In a conclusion, I totally agreed with the statement above. Human clone can improve the quality of life and expand our knowledge.

Written By,

Khoo Siew Ling(L6Sn1)

Should human cloning be allowed?

Human cloning is a very controversial issue, with the battle of science vs. religion. Human cloning involves the asexual replication of an individual human being at any stage of development. The entire concept of human cloning is surrounded by a lot of misconception, fear, religious ethical barriers. The idea of human cloning has been around for quite a while now and has been a source of constant debates and even fiction. I choose to believe that despite the fact that we are currently faced with many barriers in this area, yet in the future there will be a greater realization of the vast benefits emerging from this technique. 

Both human therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning can produce many benefits. Therapeutic cloning involves creation of genetically identical cells. This can have an impact in the field of medicine by impacting transplantation and regenerative science. As the cells would be identical, immunosuppressants would not be required. For example healthy heart cells/tissue can be used to replace damaged areas of the heart. Organ transplants including kidneys, liver, and heart can be effectively carried out without the risk of rejection following therapeutic cloning. Even effects of disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's can be reversed following cloning. In a way, all the problems associated with aging can somewhat be cured once human cloning potential is realized and we would be able to reverse the aging process. With knowledge obtained from human cloning, victims of terrible accidents that leave them disfigured for life can be provided with grafts that are genetically identical to their cells and safer reconstructive surgery can be performed. Even damaged nerve tissues following spinal injuries can be treated.

Infertility problems faced by so many couples are accompanied with a great deal of emotional pain. With human cloning the embryo can be cloned using DNA from the couple and then allowed to develop in vivo and this would allow many infertile couple to have children. Many babies are born with genetic defects that although can be detected during fetal development, they cannot be reversed or cured. The knowledge from cloning may be used to replace defective genes with normal genes or balancing the number of chromosomes in cases of anneuploidies. 

The knowledge from human cloning can provide us greater information about our genetics and provide some answers about how cells can differentiate into particular cell lines. If a child is critically ill and there is no donor match available, then a clone of the child (a younger twin in a way) can provide a source of stem cells that can possibly cure the child and the life of the child can be saved. Thus cloning may provide us with embryos from which cells can be used for regenerating various organs and tissues. Also, by regulating cell growth cancer can be cured easily, for example by cloning the bone marrow cells to cure leukemia. 

Ultimately if a situation is encountered by mankind where we face extinction, then just as cloning has been proposed to resurrect endangered species, human cloning can ensure continuation of human species. Scientists are now suggesting that successes in therapeutic cloning may eventually lead greater understanding of epigenetic effects and to reproductive cloning . Cloning for biomedical purposes can lead to significant advances in medicine, allowing novel therapies and treatments to be devised for genetic diseases to which many people succumb.

By, 

Chew Kim Kee

SMK Methodist

Are GMO helpful or harmful? well, i think is HARMFUL

Genetically modified (gm) foods are more available nowadays, as scientists are becoming more and more inventive creating things such as mixed fruits (e.g.  orangiwi [cross between an orange and a kiwifruit] and a bannarot [cross between a banana and a carrot]).

However, this is not the only type of genetically modified foods; scientists have created plants that are immune to pesticides and herbicides when sprayed with them.

Yet, there is also a downside to this situation as there have been many cases where people have become sick from eat gm food. People can also develop allergic reactions that they didn’t know that they even had in the first place, this can be a good thing if it is a small reaction, so that the person can deal with the issue. But if it is a large reaction (like an anaphylactic reaction), this can be a very bad thing, this sort of reaction can sometimes lead to death.

The question is, whether it is harmful or helpful.

Both The United States and Canada, and many other highly developed countries have introduced genetically modified foods. This is not necessary as these countries always have a variety of different fruits available.  However, third world countries do not have this luxury and need to eat the same vegetables everyday, regardless of the season as they do not have the water and other necessities to grow crops.

The main reason for genetically modified foods being introduced is that third world countries can’t eat properly without them. There is another reason for more developed countries introducing this technology, they found that people didn’t like to eat food that doesn’t look appetising and colourful, so they found a way to get around this problem by changing their genes so that their colour changes.

Another thing that scientists have found out how to do is change the genes in chickens and other animals that we eat, to make them fatter so that they have more meat on them, or so that they are immune to diseases.

Some people may ask the question ‘who is involved with genetically modified foods’, well the answer is everyone, it is a worldwide issue. This is because there are the farmers who produce the genetically modified crops, then there are the people who are against genetically modified produce, then there are the people who couldn’t care less where there food came from and just buy the cheapest produce which happens to be genetically modified food, then there are the people who try hard not to buy genetically modified foods but unfortunately there is no way of telling between organic and genetically modified food if it isn’t visually altered. So you see there are many, many people involved, many people who have many different opinions but the problem for everyone is that manufacturers usually don’t label it when they produce genetically modified foods. This brings me to my next topic, existing solutions and possibilities for the future.

There isn’t really a solution for genetically modified foods because there are two different arguments, we should keep gm foods and we shouldn’t keep gm foods’. The current community hasn’t thought of a solution yet, but I have thought of some things that might happen in the future, if we don’t find an answer to this problem.

One thing that can happen is that there will be no organic produce left and many people will become sick because they have allergies to the things that they have put into the food. Another thing that could happen is that fruit could become almost unrecognisable, as the texture, colour taste etc. might change.

I personally believe that genetically modified foods should be banned in developed countries as it isn’t necessary because have such a variety of foods throughout the seasons without having to add more.

The reason I believe that people who live in third world countries should still have genetically modified foods is because it will help them live a better life style, as it will allow them to have food all year round that they can rely on.

By,

Chew Kim Kee

SMK Methodist

Advantages and disadvantages of Genetically Modified (GM) Food

The number of countries growing GM crops has increased in recent years. The benefits and dangers of genetically engineered food are the subject of intense debate. Supporters claim it will feed the world and promote better health and ecological welfare. Detractors have their doubts. Genetically modified (GM) food includes crops, vegetables and fruit that have been created using genetic engineering methods. The principle aim with GM food is to combine desirable genes from various species to create new genetically-altered crosses with enhanced nutritional, productive and ecological value. This differs from traditional breeding in that genetic transference between unrelated species does not occur biologically in nature.

First and foremost, GM food is resistance to pests. Crop losses from insect pests can be staggering, resulting in devastating financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries. Farmers typically use many tons of chemical pesticides annually. Consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides because of potential health hazards, and run-off of agricultural wastes from excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers can poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. Growing GM foods can help eliminate the application of chemical pesticides and reduce the cost of bringing a crop to market.

Besides, it could potentially solve hunger. Many people agree that there is not enough food in the world to feed everybody. As genetically modified foods increase the yields of crops, more food is produced by farmers. Of course, others argue that there is enough food to feed everyone, but it is unequally distributed. Others argue the GM crops do not produce higher yields.

Moreover, GM food provides more nutrition than non-GM food. Malnutrition is common in third world countries where impoverished peoples rely on a single crop such as rice for the main staple of their diet. However, rice does not contain adequate amounts of all necessary nutrients to prevent malnutrition. If rice could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. For example, blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is a common problem in third world countries. Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Institute for Plant Sciences have created a strain of "golden" rice containing an unusually high content of beta-carotene (vitamin A). Since this rice was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, a non-profit organization, the Institute hopes to offer the golden rice seed free to any third world country that requests it. Plans were underway to develop a golden rice that also has increased iron content. However, the grant that funded the creation of these two rice strains was not renewed, perhaps because of the vigorous anti-GM food protesting in Europe, and so this nutritionally-enhanced rice may not come to market at all.

However, GM food bring disadvantages to human. GM food. There is an unknown effects on human health. There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human health. A recent article published in Lancet examined the effects of GM potatoes on the digestive tract in rats.  This study claimed that there were appreciable differences in the intestines of rats fed GM potatoes and rats fed unmodified potatoes. Yet critics say that this paper, like the monarch butterfly data, is flawed and does not hold up to scientific scrutiny.  Moreover, the gene introduced into the potatoes was a snowdrop flower lectin, a substance known to be toxic to mammals. The scientists who created this variety of potato chose to use the lectin gene simply to test the methodology, and these potatoes were never intended for human or animal consumption.

       On top of that,bringing a GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process, and of course agri-biotech companies wish to ensure a profitable return on their investment. Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented, and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness. Yet consumer advocates are worried that patenting these new plant varieties will raise the price of seeds so high that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops, thus widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor. It is hoped that in a humanitarian gesture, more companies and non-profits will follow the lead of the Rockefeller Foundation and offer their products at reduced cost to impoverished nations.

            Another concern is that crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds will cross-breed, resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from the crops into the weeds. These "superweeds" would then be herbicide tolerant as well. Other introduced genes may cross over into non-modified crops planted next to GM crops. The possibility of interbreeding is shown by the defense of farmers against lawsuits filed by Monsanto. The company has filed patent infringement lawsuits against farmers who may have harvested GM crops. Monsanto claims that the farmers obtained Monsanto-licensed GM seeds from an unknown source and did not pay royalties to Monsanto. The farmers claim that their unmodified crops were cross-pollinated from someone else's GM crops planted a field or two away. More investigation is needed to resolve this issue.

       In a nutshell, Genetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the world's hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling. Many people feel that genetic engineering is the inevitable wave of the future and that we cannot afford to ignore a technology that has such enormous potential benefits. However, we must proceed with caution to avoid causing unintended harm to human health and the environment as a result of our enthusiasm for this powerful technology.

written by 

ailing

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cons of cell phone

          Many school boards have tried setting limits on cell phone use without banning cell phones completely. Requiring that phones be turned off during school hours, confiscating phones from students caught using them in class, and requiring that phones be set to voice mail only have all had limited success. Some teachers are so frustrated with cell phone interruptions that they collect the phones at the beginning of class and return them as students leave. Using cell phone in school had bring many disadvantages for principal, teachers and parents.

          One of the disadvantages of using cell phone in school is distraction when teachers are teaching. Along with the many applications available on a cell phone, an important one is that of texting. There is no guarantee that a student will not text during class hours. Using cell phone in class also affects their concentration on studies and thereby the overall learning process. Not only does the factor of distraction come into the picture in relation to students, but also in relation to teachers and the classroom in general. For example, when the phone starts ringing in class or even if is on 'vibration mode', the teachers might lose their link of teaching and that will prove to be a major disadvantage for the entire class. Not to mention that it is extremely disrespectful for the teacher who is conducting the class.

          Some students had wrong usage the cell phone to draw out illegal matter. The cell phone could turn into a potent device for some students. Instead of using it for academics and emergencies, some students might make unlawful use of its features. For examples, camera, it bring the issue of school safety into the picture. They might click snaps that are not right, or record videos that are questionable in nature or call the school and report a bomb threat as a prank or to cancel classes. They may also use the phone to draw out other illegal activities like drug deals, thefts and the like. So also, if the phone is used extensively, it could lead to an extravagant bill.

          Having the Internet on the phone provides for an opportunity to cheat. Students can refer to the Internet for answers on a test, or they could text an accomplice for the answers. They could also photograph information from a textbook and use that to cheat in the test. Neither of these acts leads to any sort of education for the students, but on the other hand, discourages them from working hard.

          Undeniably, mobile telephone is a symbol of technological break through. It represents the most overwhelming fad nowadays. But when we use it, are we also making it the most annoying, unnecessary and time-wasting device? As a matter of fact, mobile telephone provides much more problems to the society than contributions. Therefore, please be aware of its impact all the time. If you still keep on using it without any limitations, you will at last suffer most severely by your own hands.

written by 

ai ling

GMO is helpful or harmful ?

A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Genetically-modified foods have made a big splash in the news since scientists have found it. People are concerned about GMO because there is no guarantee that GMO is safe, even scientists cannot make a clear explain about it. In my opinion, genetically modified organism and food is helpful in your real life.

GMO is useful for pest resistance. Farmers have been using many tons of chemical pesticides annually to kill all those pests. This has caused financial loss for farmers and starvation in developing countries if insects or pests have destroyed the crops. Besides, consumers do not wish to eat food that has been treated with pesticides as it is bad for health. The wastes of pesticides and fertilizers can also poison the water supply and cause harm to the environment. So, genetically modified foods such as BT corn help in pest resistance and reduce the uses of chemical pesticide.

GM foods can solve hunger .Scientists can transfer genes from other plants or some virus to get its benefit. For example, the genetically modified salmon will be able to grow faster and grow in the winter and summer because of the injection of a combination of a growth gene from the Pacific Chinook salmon and genetic material from the ocean pout. Genetically modified food managed to fulfill the needs of human for foods. GM foods are cheaper due to lower costs and higher yield. As people in poor countries spend over half of their income on food alone, lower food prices mean an automatic reduction of poverty.

Moreover, nutrients can be obtained from GM foods. Vitamin A deficiencies cause blindness. In Africa, 500,000 go blind each year. Foods could be genetically engineered to contain additional vitamins and minerals, so that nutrient deficiencies could be alleviated. If rice can be modified to contain more vitamin A, the amount of people going blind will decrease. As GMO crops are more nutritious, sickness and illnesses can be reduced.

Furthermore, medicines and vaccines often are costly to produce and hardly to obtain. GMO is useful as it managed to obtain the exact medicines and vaccines. It has the same effect as the non-genetically modified medicines and vaccines. Scientists manage to produce new products through the knowledge of genetically engineer. For examples, scientist identified the gene responsible for caffeine in coffee beans; by excluding this gene, decaffeinated coffee beans can be grown naturally.

In a conclusion, genetically modified organisms have their good and bad points. They can produce more food and provide many benefits to humans. However, they can also be detrimental if not used properly. They can mix with non-genetically modified crops and ruin a farmers business. Pesticides in plants can be a great benefit but they can damage the environment and be poisonous to the consumer. There is a lot of conflict over whether genetically modified organisms are good or bad for us and there is no way to know until either something really good or something really bad comes out of it.

                                                                                                            Written by

                                                                                                            Lim Whey Teen

Should Human Cloning be allowed?

In this advancement of science, there is a new element added to the study of biology, which is human cloning. Cloning is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. However, should human cloning be allowed in this world? That is the question that many people all over the world have been debating. Some said that it is wrong and some agreed to do that. Some scientists found that human cloning would be nothing but beneficial to human race. For now, the law does not allow human cloning. So, should the law allow human cloning?

                Human cloning would be a positive harbinger for mankind. Scientists have been working hard on finding the cures for many present diseases which cannot be cured, but still cannot manage to discover ones. If human cloning was allowed in our nation, the study of health would drastically improve. Those diseases which cannot be cured for so long may finally have an answer for it. For example, AIDS. This is a well-known illness that damages the human immune system. There are no treatments available for this virus. With cloning, scientists could able to copy and create more white blood cells to fight off this deadly virus. This would save millions of innocent lives. Clones would also be the best organ donors. When a person has kidney failure, she does not have to suffer from several pains and she can be a healthy person again sooner. This is because of clone. Clone is an exact copy and she does not have to worry about whether her kidney can accept or not.

                Similarity, there have been some married couples facing problems of infertility, meaning they are unable to give birth. Many of these unfortunate couples desperately want children, so they go for adoption. However, the problem is those adopted kids are not actually blood related with them. With cloning, scientists managed to clone a child with their genes. He would be exact copy of one parent's DNA and live like a normal person. Cloning is the perfect solution for making many infertility women to have their own biologically related children and helps to increase human race.

                However, a handful of wary people say that cloning is unethical. There are some dangerous risks in human cloning especially in medical field. We know that all human beings will be identical in human cloning. It means that entire human is at a risk of getting infected by the same type of disease. In scientific point of view, if everyone has the same type of genes, then everyone will infected by the same virus because they all cannot defend against the same kind of serious disease. This will cause cloning become a detrimental in terms of a great disaster. A newborn baby which is genetically cloned from his mother’s DNA fragment may have the risk to get the same disease as his mother.  This is because the gene which is used to clone the baby carried the virus and caused the baby to be infected too.

                Moreover, this human cloning procedure is still questionable. The reason many scientists and most individuals feel concerned about cloning, is the uncertainty that comes with it. Scientists don't know how long clones will live or how productive their lives will be. There is also no guarantee that cloning is safe, even for the clones. In cloning Dolly, it resulted in the death of many embryos and newborns before success achieved. This shows that there is no 100% success for human cloning. In addition, even if the human clone survived, it is not guaranteed that it would develop normally. The genetic material in human cloning might have inherited genetic or other abnormal symptoms.

                In a conclusion, human cloning helps in making new medical discoveries and improve our knowledge. The cloning of humans could be the greatest achievement of medical science and it could lead the way to the solution to some of humanity's greatest problems. Although there is still some uncertainty of human cloning, with the new advancements of science and the rapid growth of technology in this field, we could continue to explore, research, and learn just as we have been doing for several years. Who knows what we will discover next! 

                                                                                                                                                               

 Written By                                                                                                                                                              Lim Whey Teen

Is Cell phone a necessity at school ?

Is cell phone a necessity at school? The question of whether cell phones should be allowed in schools has been hotly debated over the years. Most school administrations regard cell phone use as disruptive and distracting, and have implemented policies that prohibit using them on school grounds. In fact, the real decision regarding cell phones lies with parents. So, should parents allow their children to bring cell phones to school? In my opinion, parents should not allow their children to bring their cell phones to school.

The reason I do not agree that parents should allow their children to bring cell phones to school is children will not pay attention while teacher is teaching. Children may be texting, capturing photos, playing games or listening to music instead of focusing on their homework or paying attention to teachers. This may affect their studies at school. Parents are also concerned about their children will use their cell phones to cheat at school. Children will save all the information or answers in their phones, so that they can copy from it. They may also send the answer through text message to their friends while having an examination. 

Moreover, students’ cell phones maybe stolen from their friends or lost easily. This is because some students like to show off. They show their latest cell phones such as Iphone 4S and blackberry to their friends. Some students may get jealous and want to have ones too. As they are come from poor family, so, the only method to get a latest cell phone is steal from students. We have seen a lot of cases of stolen phones happened at school. Students may lost their phone easily at school. This is because they are playing with their friends and never realised that they have dropped their phone at somewhere else.

Parents are also worried about the health threats of cell phones on children. Cell phone may produce radiation which is harmful. The radiation of cell phone is harmful to us especially children who below sixteen years old as their brains are too sensitive to bear the radiation effects. Tissue in the brain and body are still developing and radiation may result to cell damage resulting to several health issues. So, parents should avoid children to face cell phones when there is unnecessary to use a cell phone such as while children is at school. However, for adults, long term and heavy use of cell phones also need to be conducted.

            In a nutshell, some parents may allow their children to bring phones to school because they want to know about the safety of their children at school and the position of their children after school. However, parents can just ask them to use public phones to contact each other if there is any emergency. Most of all, there is unnecessary for students to bring their phones to school.

Written by

Lim Whey Teen

Human cloning should be allowed ?

Human cloning should be allowed ?

What is human cloning? Human cloning is a form of cloning is designed to result in a copy of a human being or a human body part. Some say it is morally wrong, that we would be nefariously attempting to "Play the role of God." However, the facts have shown that there is nothing inherently wrong with human cloning. Scientists have proved a number of times that human cloning would be nothing but beneficial to the human race, if only it was legal. If the law allowed human cloning, it would not only save lives, but it would lead to a number of advancements in scientific research, and improve the quality of life.

First and foremost, there has been a breakthrough with human stem cells. Embryonic stem cells can be grown to produce organs or tissues to repair or replace damaged ones. Skin for burn victims, brain cells for the brain damaged, spinal cord cells for quadriplegics and paraplegics, hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys could be produced. By combining this technology with human cloning technology it may be possible to produce needed tissue for suffering people that will be free of rejection by their immune systems. Conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart failure, degenerative joint disease, and other problems may be made curable if human cloning and its technology are not banned.

Besides, cloning also helps in testing for genetic disease. Cloning technology can be used to test for and perhaps cure genetic diseases. The above list only scratches the surface of what human cloning technology can do for mankind. The suffering that can be relieved is staggering. This new technology heralds a new era of unparalleled advancement in medicine if people will release their fears and let the benefits begin. Why should another child die from leukemia when if the technology is allowed we should be able to cure it in a few years time?

                With cloning, infertile couples could have children. Despite getting a fair amount of publicity in the news current treatments for infertility, in terms of percentages, are not very successful. One estimate is that current infertility treatments are less than 10 percent successful. Couples go through physically and emotionally painful procedures for a small chance of having children. Many couples run out of time and money without successfully having children. Human cloning could make it possible for many more infertile couples to have children than ever before possible.

On top of that, Because of human cloning and its technology the days of silicone breast implants and other cosmetic procedures that may cause immune disease should soon be over. With the new technology, instead of using materials foreign to the body for such procedures, doctors will be able to manufacture bone, fat, connective tissue, or cartilage that matches the patients tissues exactly. Anyone will able to have their appearance altered to their satisfaction without the leaking of silicone gel into their bodies or the other problems that occur with present day plastic surgery. Victims of terrible accidents that deform the face should now be able to have their features repaired with new, safer, technology. Limbs for amputees may be able to be regenerated. So, cloning also helps in plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery.

In a nutshell, I think that human cloning should be allowed because human cloning would be entirely beneficial for science, and the quality of life, in addition to helping the prosperity of the human race. It would save, create, and improve lives all over the world. This would be an amazing accomplishment for scientists and following this major milestone, who knows what we will discover next! Human cloning would help the human race, the world of science, and the age of technology.

 Written by,See Yee

Cell Phone Abuse

Cell Phone Abuse

  Cell phones are a wonderful convenience and fun gadgets to have. However, there is still debate about whether or not they belong in schools. Consensus needs to be reached between parents, students, and educators regarding the fair use in schools. Certainly to ban them completely is to ignore some of the educational advantages of having a cell phone in the classroom. Also, there needs to be sensible communication concerning the misuses of cell phones; some uses are definitely unacceptable. So, I definitely don’t think that cell phone is necessary in school.

  First and foremost, many children have found themselves to be victims of cell phone abuse and these acts have worry their parents. . Students often use cell phones to spread rumors and misinformation. This misinformation can be difficult for the victim to digest and can be quite stressful for a young child to comprehend. This act of misinformation has resulted in the death of several children after their private information and unsubstantiated information had been spread with the use of cell phones. State and local officials have begun to develop laws that establish strong consequences for the spread of personal information. These consequences include fines, jail time and possible sex offender status.

  However, are that they have become intrusive and have taken away from our face to face connections. Just go to any restaurant and you will see entire families glued to their cell phone screens instead of interacting with one another and this acts had cause the family bond among each other to be drift apart. So, in some ways, while we have closed a gap that physical distance once created between us and other members of our global society, we have also created a new gap fostering a divide between ourselves and the people who are physically closest to us. Additionally, of course, this attention to phones has also led to traffic accidents, cheating on tests, and other forms of fraud.

    Opponents of cell phones in schools believe cell phones do not improve school safety. For example, in the event of an emergency, cell phone signals can become jammed if everyone attempts to contact people at once, which can make it difficult for teachers to contact the authorities. If students do successfully contact their parents, parents may all rush to the scene, which can conflict with evacuations or other responses. Cell phones can also facilitate the spreading of rumors during emergency situations. In addition, cell phones are sometimes used to call in bomb threats or other threats, which students may do in order to evade a test. These calls often are untraceable. Cell phones can also be used to detonate real bombs.

  In a nutshell, cell phone had brings kids many cons compare with pros. For example, cheating with cell phones has become a huge issue in many schools. Students can text answers under their desks during tests. Plus, cell phones can be very distracting from more important events in a child’s life such as studying, doing homework, or even crossing the street. As a result, the decision of using cell phones in the school totally depends on the school authorities and parents. However, the decision must be taken after the analysis of the pros and cons of the same.

Written by,

Loke See Yee L6SN1

 Human cloning should be allowed

Should humans be cloned? This is the question that many people all over the world have been debating. Some say it is morally wrong, that we would be nefariously attempting to play the role of God. However, the facts have shown that there is nothing inherently wrong with human cloning. Based on Wikipedia, Cloning define as the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Whereas, cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments, cells (cell cloning), or organisms. Scientists have proved a number of times that human cloning would be nothing but beneficial to the human race, if only it was legal. If the law allowed human cloning, it would not only save lives, but it would lead to a number of advancements in scientific research, and improve the quality of life.

Human cloning would be a positive harbinger for mankind, and an excellent opportunity for the advancement of science. In the past century, scientists have been assiduous workers in making numerous achievements, discoveries, and inventions, giving us the knowledge we have acquired about ourselves and about the world around us. For years, scientists have studied and made tremendous progress in cloning. Experts say that if cloning research was legal we could find better treatments, and perhaps even cures for many terrible diseases that so many of us suffer and die from each year. For example, AIDS. This is a well-known illness that damages the human immune system. Even though there are treatments available, but statistics show that three million people die from AIDS each year and yet so far, no one has been able to find a cure. With cloning, scientists could copy and create more white blood cells to fight off and kill the deadly virus. This would save millions of innocent lives. It would also help in making new medical discoveries and expand our knowledge. With new advancements, we could continue to explore, research, and learn as just we have been doing for several years.

Clones would be the best organ donors. Imagine our mother suddenly gets cancer in her kidneys and she needs to have a transplant. Assuming we love our mother and would do anything for her, hence we decide to be her donor. Then after the operation, her body rejects the new, foreign organ, and the kidney fails. The doctor says that the only way she would survive would be to find a kidney with the same type of tissue as her original, healthy tissue. The solution to our mother's problem and the answer to our prayers would be cloning. Because a clone can exact copy, she would have no worries about her body accepting the organ or not. This would be the only way to save her life. But there is just one problem, cloning humans is not legal. What is going to happen to our mother? Are we going to allow our mother to die? Hence, human cloning should be allowed.

Besides, infertile couples could have biologically related children. For years, couples everywhere have been facing problems of infertility, meaning that they are unable to reproduce. Many of these unfortunate couples still want children, so they decide to adopt a child. The problem with that is that the kids are not actually blood related, and this leaves an empty hole in so many people's lives. With cloning, these couples could finally have children with their own genes. They would be exact copies of one parent's DNA. Cloning is the perfect solution for making many people incredibly happy, and helping the human race grow.

A handful of wary people say that cloning is unethical and would be deleterious to the human race. They say that there should only be one of each person in this world, because our individuality is what makes each person special and unique. I too believe that our individuality is what makes us special. But what do these people think about identical cloning? It is proven scientifically that identical twins have the same genetic information. That would mean that twins are not unique or special individuals. Their minds, personalities, health, and fitness grow and change depending on how they are raised, the things they are exposed to and the activities they become interested in. Expert, James Trefil said, "Clones would be just like twins. The only difference being that the twin is born later." It would be impossible for a clone to grow up to be exactly like his original. He would be brought up differently, have different life experiences, and have relationships entirely unique to that person. Also, as researcher, Wes Carrington says, "A clone and its donor would be very different and they would even have different fingerprints."

In a nutshell, I believe that human cloning should be allowed. It is because human cloning would be entirely beneficial for science, and the quality of life, in addition helping the prosperity of the human race. It would save, create, and improve lives all over the world. This would be an amazing accomplishment for scientists and following this major milestone, who knows what we going to discover next. Human cloning would help the human race, the world of science, and the age of technology. Hence, the government should realise the benefits of human cloning and allow doing human cloning. 

KALA

human cloning

Wow ,you look exact like me .How could it be possible? As I know I have no twins however I’m so perplexed to see you like I’m seeing my image on the mirror. I’m cloned of you by the scientist since you are so busy until you can’t manage doing two things at the same time as you can’t split into two. As we know , have naturally occur cloning which are the identical twins are produced. However in fast growing technology it could be done through CLONING. So what  is the meaning of cloning? Cloning’ typically refers to somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). SCNT involves transferring the nucleus of a somatic cell (any body cell other than a sperm or egg cell) into an enucleated oocyte. This simply means an oocyte from which the nucleus and thus most of the DNA has been removed. The oocyte is treated with electric current to stimulate cell division and an embryo is formed. The extracted DNA is inserted into womb o surrogate mother. This was proven as the first mammal Dooly the sheep was cloned using somatic  cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). However human cloning has been the main topic of the cloning debate., so human cloning should be allowed? In my opinion human cloning should be allowed since the pros of cloning outweigh the cons.

In my point of view cloning actually helps in organ replacement. I’m sure there are many of us are suffering  in diabetes. The treatment of course undergoing dialysis  process at least three times a week. It could be painful to be poked all over on your body  with big needles. However the situation can be handled since the vital organs can be cloned too. They can serve as backup system for human beings. Cloning body parts serve as a life saver. For instance the body organ such as  kidney  or heart. There’s no need for us to wait for long period of time to transplant a  kidney since  a cloned of your kidney  from  your own stem cell can be replaced. This method has higher chance to your body to accept the organ compared an organ donated by the donors which has possibly high risk of rejecting it.

Next,  cloning is expansion of opportunities for reproduction. Human reproductive cloning could offer a new means for prospective parents to satisfy their reproductive desires. It is most often presented as a possible treatment for infertility. For those unable to produce embryos of their own, cloning opens up the possibility of using donated eggs (or the woman's own eggs if she is able to produce viable eggs) and then using a somatic cell nucleus of the mother or that of her partner to create a child closely genetically related to one of them. If the female partner's egg is used to clone the genome of her male partner, the resulting child would be genetically related to both parents since the egg contains the mother's mitochondrial DNA. Further, and in particular, cloning could be used to provide homosexual couples with genetically related children.By cloning the genome of a healthy person, parents may avoid passing on inheritable diseases to their child. People might also choose to give their child the genome of a person with good health and other desirable characteristics in order to provide the child with a wide array of possible life plans. Another possible use of reproductive cloning is to help create a child that is a tissue match for a sick sibling. The stem cells from the umbilical cord blood or from the bone marrow of the cloned child could be used to cure the diseased child. Such children, referred to as ‘saviour siblings’, have already been created through sexual reproduction or, more efficiently, through a combination of IVF.

Besides , Cloning of stem cells will provide treatments for variety diseases. Because stem cells can turn into many other cell types with the right prompting, doctors may be able to replace tissues and organs damaged by disease or injury to restore healthy function. If therapeutic cloning is practiced, the fertilized egg cell is harvested. When the cell has itself a few times divided, the valuable embryonic stem cells can be taken from the developing embryo, hereby the embryo is killed.
One issue concerns the use of animal organs for transplantation to human beings, such as using the heart valve of a pig to replace a human heart valve. This kind of transplantation is called a xenotransplant. First addressed by Pope Pius XII in 1956, the Church maintains that such transplants are morally acceptable on three conditions: (1) the transplanted organ does not impair the integrity of the genetic or psychological identity of the recipient, (2) the transplant has a proven biological record of possible success, and (3) the transplant does not involve inordinate risk for the recipient.  A second issue concerns the use of organs or tissues from aborted children (such as those murdered through partial birth abortion procedures). Actually a lucrative organ “Harvesting” industry is developing which utilizes the organs and tissues of aborted fetuses. A critical point here is that these abortions are performed with the intention of utilizing the organs or tissues of the infant, and in direct conjunction with a particular recipient in mind.  Another facet of this issue is when a child is conceived naturally or through in vitro fertilization to obtain the best genetic match, and then born or even aborted simply for organs or tissues. For example, recently a couple conceived a child for the sole purpose of being a bone marrow donor for another sibling suffering from leukemia; while the conceived child determined to be a good match while still in the womb and was born, one must wonder if the child would have been aborted if he had not been a good match. To participate in an abortion to obtain organs, to conceive a child for organs, or to knowingly use organs from aborted fetuses is morally wrong. This issue has even become more complicated with the technological research in cloning. Some researchers hope to grow tissue and even organs from stem cells retrieved from human embryos; however, to do so necessitates the destruction of the embryo. Since human life begins at conception and is sacred from that very moment, such destruction is immoral.

The purpose of therapeutic cloning is to clone things such as organs and tissue for patients in need. Therapeutic applications of stem cells potentially could treat illnesses including: Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, blood, bone and bone marrow ailments, severe burns by providing skin grafts, spinal cord injuries, and cancer patients who have lost cells and tissue to radiation and chemotherapy. In addition, stem cells could be harnessed and packaged to deliver gene therapies to specific targets in the body to treat genetic problems.

Last but not least, plastic, reconstructive, and cosmetic surgery could be replaced with cloning. For example, of human cloning and its technology the days of silicone breast implants and other cosmetic procedures that may cause immune disease should soon be over. With the new technology, instead of using materials foreign to the body for such procedures, doctors will be able to manufacture bone, fat, connective tissue, or cartilage that matches the patients tissues exactly. Anyone will able to have their appearance altered to their satisfaction without the leaking of silicone gel into their bodies or the other problems that occur with present day plastic surgery. Victims of terrible accidents that deform the face should now be able to have their features repaired with new, safer, technology.

In the nutshell,Cloning offers remarkable insight into the power of creation that humanity has taken into its fold. One theological analysis holds that humans are co-creators with God; perhaps it is more accurate to say that humans are moving ever closer to a posture of making babies, rather than having babies. Cloning represents a remarkable test of human restraint, wisdom and institutional development, one that will in many ways identify the moral features of 21st century biotechnology.

WRITTEN BY,

FARZANA