REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES Big Idea: The study of the genome and biotechnology has social, ethical and environmental implications. Ethics Statements – do you agree or disagree – is it that easy to decide?

Ethics Statement 1 For each of the following statements, choose AGREE or DISAGREE If I had the choice to choose my child’s traits (e.g. gender, eye colour, etc.), I would wish to do so.

Ethics Statement 2 For people who can’t have children naturally (e.g. infertile), then it is okay for them to use a technology to help them have a baby

Ethics Statement 3 To save my own life, I think its okay to use stem cells (kill zygotes (fertilized egg))

WHAT CAN WE DO???

CLONING Way to produce a genetically identical organism through non-sexual means Used to produce plants for many years (using cuttings) Public notice: 1997 with birth of first cloned mammal Dolly the sheep First mammal to be cloned from a somatic cell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkZV7hl-kXE Since Dolly, scientists have cloned goats, cows, mice, pigs, cats, and rabbits Problems: Many embryos do not survive Clones can have serious health problems

METHOD OF CLONING: Nuclear Transplantation:

WHY CLONE? To mass produce organisms with desired qualities Example: sheep have been engineered to produce human insulin To replace lost or deceased family pets To repopulate endangered or even extinct species

CONTROVERSY: After Dolly, controversy arose surrounding social, moral and ethical use of cloning People for cloning think it could be used to replace deceased relatives or harvest organs from a clone to remove the chance of rejection

CONTROVERSY CONTINUED: But not everyone liked the idea of cloning To create Dolly, scientists performed the experiment 276 times, which means many failures Cloning could be used to add more people to a certain race, political party, religion, background, sex, physical appearance, special talents People could select traits for their children To harvest organs, would have to kill the clone Cloning primates difficult because spindle proteins (needed for cell division) are located very close to nucleus in egg cells, so when nucleus is removed so to are the spindle proteins

CANADIAN LAWS: In 2004, a bill was passed that states "No person shall knowingly create a human clone by using any technique," which would include therapeutic cloning, a technology researchers believe could lead to revolutionary treatments. Therapeutic cloning is based on the concept that the best way to get stem cells that are a perfect match for a patient -- thereby preventing immune rejection -- will be to create a clone of that patient, develop the embryo to around 100 cells, then remove the stem cells Researchers consider the technique promising for treating spinal cord injuries and Alzheimer's disease.

IN-VITRO FERTILIZATION: Approximately 10% of couples are affected by infertility More than 250,000 babies have been born since then as a result of using the in vitro fertilization technique Test tube baby was used to describe babies born by IVF Used for women with fallopian tube problems or males with mild sperm problems Costs approximately $15, 000-$20,000 Only covered in Quebec

IVF: PROCESS: Women take hormones to prepare their eggs and uterus for pregnancy A man’s sperm and woman’s egg are combined in a petri plate in a lab The resulting embryo is transferred to the woman’s uterus to implant and develop Usually 2-4 embryos are implanted at a time

ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION: Sperm is artificially placed into a woman’s cervix or uterus Semen to be implanted is “washed” in a laboratory, concentrating the semen and removing any harmful chemicals The semen is inserted into the woman, and if the procedure is successful, she conceives.

Case Study: “Motherhood after Menopause” You will be looking at the ethical, legal, and social implications of a case involving in vitro fertilization Read the handout "Motherhood After Menopause“ Discuss the case study in your groups Record your answers to the questions on the handout and be prepared to discuss as a class