What is Cloning?

It has not been that long since I last posted. Albeit, I recently encountered a topic that although controversial, will prove to be of utmost importance in the near future. Cloning has been the main theme of science fiction movies for quite some time. What if I told you though, that mother nature has also been able to produce clones? Identical twins are a clear example of the aforesaid. In the following, I will expand on this matter as best as I possibly can.

 

First of all, let us define the word "clone"(artificial that is). According to the Oxford Dictionary, a clone is "An organism or cell, group of organisms or cells, produced asexually from one ancestor or stock, to which they are genetically identical. They cannot be produced solely in a laboratory nonetheless. There is a need for a surrogate mother where the clone can grow. Case in point, Dolly the sheep was one of the first successfully cloned animals back in 1996. However, some abnormalities have been stated to take place by scientists. Even after the cloning process has successfully been concluded.

Even though, the process slightly varies depending on which organism scientists are working on, I am going to walk you through the basics. The first step to clone Dolly for instance was to remove body cells from a first female sheep's udders. Afterwards, the egg was taken from a second female sheep. Moreover, they took the nucleus containing the chromosomes from the first sheep. They also took  the nucleus from the second sheep's egg. Furthermore, they took the chromosomes from the first sheep and placed them into the egg from the second one. In addition, they were both pulsed with electricity for the embryo to come to live. What is more, the embryo was transplanted into a third sheep. Where it developed naturally. Despite the fact that three sheep were needed to clone Dolly, a different method could have been used.  Had the original sheep still been alive, the embryo could have been transplanted into her.

 

Why cloning nonetheless? Well, there are countless reasons why it would be beneficial for humanity in general to keep making breakthroughs in this scientific domain. Take stem cells for instance. Through the development and mastery of this process, organs could be made. Thus saving a considerable number of lives and ridding the need for transplants. On a different note, the quality of livestock in farming could be significantly enhanced as well. To illustrate my point I will say as follows: A farmer could clone a cow with a high yield of milk and keep making his farm progress. Among other  reasons would be: The possibility to bring back endangered or extinct species, cloning animal models of diseases to develop better treatments, etc.

 

Irrespective of what your opinion on this issue is, you cannot deny a simple fact. Not only has it proven already to benefit mankind in several different fields, it has also given scientists hope for a brighter future. Perhaps human cloning  in the foreseeable future would be a stretch. Be that as it may, we cannot disregard how helpful cloning would be for present and future generations. When it comes to the well-being of humanity, there is no religious or scientific belief that could possibly supersede them.

 

Sources:

- Oxford University Press.

- Ana Kuebler's YouTube channel.

Common Rhetorical Devices

Has it not exactly been a month since my last post. Be that as it may, during a conversation with my father, I managed to encounter the topic for this article. Have you ever wonder how you could be better at public speaking? Well, rhetoric may be key to solving your communication problems. Even though it started out over 2000 years ago, it is still as effective as it was back then. In the following, I will go deeper into the aforesaid and also explain some of the most relevant rhetorical devices.

According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, rhetoric is "speech or writing intended to influence people". Thus, it could be used for both good and evil purposes. Albeit, I believe rhetoric goes beyond the aforementioned definition. Trying to convince an audience is no easy task. When using the proper techniques however, the process becomes considerably simpler. For instance, a lawyer making use of rhetorical devices to convince the jury of his client's innocence. Speaking of which. Let us define rhetorical devices before we proceed. "A rhetorical device is a technique an author or speaker uses so as to persuade the reader or listener to consider a topic from a different perspective, and even to take action". The video that I will attach at the end of this post mentions seven devices. I nonetheless will focus only on six of them.

1. Rhetorical Question:

A question that is not answered by the writer or speaker, owing to the answer being obvious.

It often asked to make a point.

- McGregor? Why would you want to vote for a person that does not keep his promises?

2. Allusion:

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, or idea of historical, cultural, etc. significance.

- He was good at business, but his Achilles' Heel was gambling, thus he lost all his money.

3. Repetition:

Repeats a word or phrase several times in order to make a point or emphasize something.

- "The government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from earth" Abraham Lincoln.

Additionally, we have the "Communication Triangle". These devices are better utilized in spoken form. Ethos (credibility), Logos (logical reasoning), Pathos (the audience's emotions) play a crucial role in swaying the audience to your point of view, argument. Shall we continue?

4. Ethos:

The person delivering the message has to be credible (trusted, knowledgeable, etc.)

- He is a forensics and ballistics expert for the federal government. If anyone is qualified to determine the murder weapon, it is him.

5. Logos:

The message must be logical and well-presented. (Makes sense, has facts and evidence for support)

- Ladies and gentleman from the jury. We have not only the fingerprints, the lack of an alibi, a clear motive and an expressed desire to commit the robbery. We also have a video of the suspect breaking in. This case could not be more open and shut.

6. Pathos:

The message touches the emotions (Tugs at the heartstrings with a story or an image, creates anger or fear.)

- You should consider another route. I heard that that street is far more dangerous at night than during the daytime.

In summary, we could argue that there are countless more rhetorical devices that should have been mentioned. Notwithstanding, the ones above are more than enough to have background knowledge on this matter. The reason why these techniques Greek philosophers introduced thousands of years ago remain applicable, is due to them dealing with aspects that are never going to go out of fashion. You will always need qualifications to make yourself look more credible when speaking to a crowd. You will always need evidence, facts and logic to substantiate your points. Lastly, you will certainly always need to appeal to people's emotions to sound more convincing as well. Being able to master the last three devices is a challenge worth pursuing. Before I leave nonetheless, I would like to add a quote from Star Wars that effectively uses "Anadiplosis", a device I left out of this post. "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering" Master Yoda.

Sources.
- Course: Grand Canyon Diploma English 3 YouTube channel.
- Cambridge University Press English dictionary.
- www.mrmediatraining.com/2011/03/15/nine.rhetorical-devices-for-your-next-speech/