Cloning Right or Wrong

DI

Eng102

March 4, 2011

Possible But Not Right

Science is an ever evolving field. Each day there are new advances that were never before thought to be possible. Everything from medical to mechanical advancements change and shape the way we interact with each other and the world around us. The advancements have provided us with exciting future possibilities. Extended life expectancy, renewable energy sources, and extremely fast means of communicating around the globe have all been the result of these advancements. As much as these are positives, there are many research projects and experiments that produce less than stellar results. Just because science provides us with a means for something to be done, doesn’t necessarily mean that is should be done. Michael Crichton’s book Jurassic Park is an example of scientific advancement that starts out with good intentions, but is affected with too many unforeseen outside influences, that prevent a positive outcome.

The world that is introduced to the reader is very believable because the idea of Jurassic Park is based on some science and advancements that have actually occurred. With the work of scientists from several fields, the development and creation of this fictional park seems like a modern day possibility. Paleobiologists with theories on code breaking, insect pathologists who see the past frozen in time, and biochemists with the technology to make sense of it all. Charles Pellegrino speculated on DNA extraction with missing information “If portions of the code are missing, we might conceivably figure out what belongs in the gaps…from currently living animals…” George Poinar Jr. stumbled across pieces of amber containing insects and began a lifelong collection that would surpass any other to provide a “golden window” into the past. And biochemists at The Cetus Corporation would develop a process referred to as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to pull it all together. Jurassic...