Cloning = Stem Cell Research?

Before writing about cloning, I'd like to thank APERRY for bringing up an important point in the controversy of stem cell research. This person made a comment on my post regarding the positions of democrats and republicans on stem cell research. APERRY said that when she thinks about stem cell research, she automatically thinks about cloning and she believes that a lot of people think the same way. So, from what I'm understanding from APERRY, people predefine stem cell research as cloning. At this point, I'd like to INTRODUCE and discuss the controversy behind cloning. I put the word "introduce" in all caps because I'm giving a broad perspective of cloning. Future posts will be in more detail regarding cloning.

My Definition of Cloning: Replicating DNA, somatic cells, or gamete cells in order to create a new organism that shares the exact same complexity and genotype of its original DNA strand, somatic cell, or gamete cell.

Among all the controversial issues regarding stem cell research, cloning seems to be the word that appears the most in ethical arguments because people who are against stem cell research claim that cloning is wrong according their cultural beliefs. Previously mentioned in one my posts regarding Christian beliefs versus stem cell research, Christians define cloning as playing God. This is because cloning can lead to very complex organisms being created from humans, such as insects and even animals. According to various religious beliefs, including Christianity, only higher power(s) should be responsible for creating the organisms that walk this Earth.
Scientists respond to the cultural argument of cloning by mentioning the benefits of cloning without creating more complex organisms such as insects or animals. The advance in cloning can benefit in the studies of gene therapy, genetic engineering of organisms, and sequencing genomes. Gene therapy can be used to treat certain genetic conditions by introducing virus vectors that carry corrected copies of faulty genes into the cells of a host organism. Genes from different organisms that improve taste and nutritional value or provide resistance to particular types of disease can be used to genetically engineer food crops.
So, once again, it's obvious that there are two sides to stem cell research. One side is defined by cultural beliefs and the other side is defined by scientific beliefs and advancements.
I'll end this post by saying that cloning and stem cell research are two totally different things. Cloning is a part of stem cell research. There are many techniques, such as observing the behavior of stem cells, used in stem cell research to understand the behavior of diseases and anatomical processes. Cloning is strictly replicating stem cells. Also, may I say that some cloning is considered a natural process. Cells replicate by a means of mitosis and meiosis. Also, Identical twins are considered clones. I only mention these things because I want people to further understand the concept of cloning, not to show people a biased opinion on how I feel about cloning.