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Should a Neanderthal be cloned?


Moontanman

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This topic is evidently being bandied about but the idea at this time is closer to pure speculation than reality according to this article.

http://us.cnn.com/2013/01/24/opinion/caplan-neanderthal-baby/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

But if we can should we? Clone one? A small group? Could neanderthal DNA added back to our gene pool increase the over all fitness of the human race? Is there any defensible reason to do so? Would anyone even notice?

Edited by Moontanman
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Would anyone even notice?

If a large group were cloned in secret and introduced into the general population, I don't think anyone would notice. The only real difference between us and our extinct cousins is that their brains are bigger and they have slightly larger brows and noses.
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If a large group were cloned in secret and introduced into the general population, I don't think anyone would notice. The only real difference between us and our extinct cousins is that their brains are bigger and they have slightly larger brows and noses.

 

 

The neanderthal genome would mix with our own again and generations on they would be absorbed into the population... maybe?

 

 

I used to work with a guy, in the encyclopedia under neanderthal was "his" picture, I ragged him incessantly over it... evil.gif

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I am not sure what human rights would have to say about this, but I think that it would be totally unethical to keep any person as a test subject. Cloning a Neanderthal with the purpose to do research would therefore be unethical.

 

Is there any way to guarantee a cloned Neanderthal a normal life? I do not think so. Research would show a massive interest, and this person would stand out as someone / something special.

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This topic is evidently being bandied about but the idea at this time is closer to pure speculation than reality according to this article.

 

http://us.cnn.com/2013/01/24/opinion/caplan-neanderthal-baby/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

 

But if we can should we? Clone one? A small group? Could neanderthal DNA added back to our gene pool increase the over all fitness of the human race? Is there any defensible reason to do so? Would anyone even notice?

 

I agree. Evidence

 

and intelligence has been clamped to 10%

Edited by Arnaud Antoine ANDRIEU
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A cloned neanderthal could lead a normal life provided it's existance was not made public. A neanderthal would most likely be like a retarded human and could go to a special school etc. I see no ethical reason why we can't clone a neanderthal, humans are already having kids with down syndrome and that's allowed.

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A neanderthal would most likely be like a retarded human and could go to a special school etc.

 

[citation needed]

 

The average cranial capacity of Homos Sapiens Neandethalensis is significantly larger than the average cranial capacity of Homo Sapiens Sapiens. On what grounds do you base your claim that a Neanderthal would be, to use your pejorative, "retarded"?

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From "another" forum...

 

It would certainly be a fascinating experiment to clone a Neanderthal man.

He might be just what we need nowadays. The present-day Homo Sapiens species seems to be sadly declining into an effete rut. We could do with an invigorating Neanderthal "blast from the past". It would give our genes a fresh kick.

Female scientists, especially, may enthuse. If a full-grown Neanderthal man was recreated, I bet he'd have a really good time.

 

 

Any "female scientists" like to chime in on this? evil.gif

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!

Moderator Note

 

 

Italian's look like Neanderthal's and quality tech has come from Italian's... so why do we need to clone them?

 

Consistency

 

The above comment is unacceptable - please refer to the forum rules especially rule 1 regarding civility. Do not respond to this modnote in the thread. Report this post if you feel the modnote is unjust or unwarranted.

 

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There are people living today who have been found to have up to 5% Neanderthal genes from inter-breeding many, many years ago (sorry, can't quote source - it was a recent TV science programme tracing an individuals past in the UK through his DNA markers).

 

If a Neanderthal baby was cloned and kept in an experimental setting, then we would learn about their biology but not their sociology.

 

If a Neanderthal baby was cloned and raised as an 'ordinary' baby, would we even notice?

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There are people living today who have been found to have up to 5% Neanderthal genes from inter-breeding many, many years ago (sorry, can't quote source - it was a recent TV science programme tracing an individuals past in the UK through his DNA markers).

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/green-neanderthals.html

 

"Surprisingly, about the same amount of Neanderthal ancestry is seen in all non-African genomes, even people from places where Neanderthals never lived, like the New World."

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  • 8 months later...

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