Though human cloning might sound to be whimsical fifty years ago, a major breakthrough was attained in 2004 when a team of South Korean researchers, led by Woo Suk Hwang, declared that they had cloned human embryos capable of reaching the blastocyst stage. Nonetheless, a university panel subsequently decided that the research was fabricated. In fact, I was quite surprised when, a few weeks ago, I stumbled across the news that Australia granted a patent to Woo Suk Hwang regarding his method used in human cloning. Indeed Australia is the first ever country that recognizes the human cloning technique of Woo and deems it as legitimate.

Anyway the idea of human cloning is really fascinating! Besides extracting cells from embryonic stem cells to treat genetic diseases, did you ever think of replicating a celebrity or your dream guy/gal and make him/her your perfect date? Not feasible though it sounds to be as under normal condition, a clone reaches maturity in a shorter period of time and surely you wouldn’t want to see your beau/lass to grow from a chubby infant into a mature adult and towards senility when you yourself have just gone through a period of, say, then years. Haha…

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“People don’t just want children, but children with more advantages than they had.” This sentence really put me into a moment of silence, a moment to think, to ponder and to reflect upon myself. Parents, regardless of human beings and animals, always strive to give the best to their children, though sometimes they may be deprived of something else which is much more essential to them. As a matter of fact, nurturing and providing basic requirements are as vital as searching for the perfect spouse to create offspring with perfect combination of characteristics. And thus the notion of eugenics is born. However I shall not further elaborate this subject and pertinent scientific and social implication.

What I want to talk about is the sacrifice made by our parents, things they have no choice but to give up to give us a better life. It reminds me of a movie that I watched recently – Money Not Enough 2 (a Singaporean film) – in which the mother decided to take her own life in order to halt the squabble between the children and to save her granddaughter’s life. For One More Day by Mitch Albom is a very poignant and touching one in the way this matter is presented. The main character hardly stands up for his mum despite the mother’s concerns. Most of us only come to appreciate someone we love only when the person is no longer around us. How much our parents have done for us and in return, what have we done in reciprocation?