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Date Posted: 13:27:56 12/28/02 Sat
Author: hotmailbird
Subject: About human cloning, example of well balanced article
In reply to: Andrey 's message, "About human cloning..." on 09:18:42 12/28/02 Sat

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=117&art_id=ct20021228113454607C450744&set_id=1

Sect will 'present DNA proof' of baby cloning

December 28 2002 at 11:35AM



A chemist who belongs to a sect that believes life on Earth was created by extraterrestrials has claimed to have produced the world's first human clone, a baby girl.

The 3,2kg baby was born on Thursday by Caesarean section, said Brigitte Boisselier, head of Clonaid, the company that claimed success in the project. She wouldn't say where the baby was born.

Even before the announcement, other scientists expressed doubt that her group could clone a human.

Boisselier, who spoke at a news conference, said the baby, dubbed "Eve" by the scientists, is a clone of a 31-year-old American woman who donated the DNA for the cloning process, had the resulting embryo implanted and then gestated the baby. If confirmed, that would make the child an exact genetic duplicate of her mother.

'The baby is very healthy. The parents are happy'
Boisselier said the mother had resorted to cloning because her mate was infertile.

"It is important to remember that we are talking about a baby," she said. "The baby is very healthy. The parents are happy. I hope that you remember them when you talk about this baby, not like a monster, like a result of something that is disgusting."

Boisselier did not immediately present DNA evidence showing a genetic match between mother and daughter, however. That omission leaves her claim scientifically unsupported.

The group expects four more babies to be born in the next several weeks, another from North America, one from Europe and two from Asia. Two of the couples are using preserved cells taken from their own children before their deaths, and one is a lesbian couple, she claimed.

"I do believe that it is the choice of every parent to choose the child they want, even if they don't have any infertility problem," Boisselier said. "Who are we to tell the parents the child that they should have?"

'I don't take part in this race'
The couples were not asked to pay for the procedures but some had invested in Clonaid, she said.

She said the baby would go home in three days, and an independent expert would take DNA samples from her to prove she had been cloned. Those tests would be done within a few days and take about a week, she said.

"You can still go back to your office and treat me as a fraud," she said. "You have one week to do that."

Most scientists, already sceptical of Boisellier's ability to produce a human clone, will probably demand to know exactly how the DNA testing was done before they believe the announcement.

Clonaid was founded in the Bahamas in 1997 by Claude Vorilhon, a former French journalist and leader of a group called the Raelians. Vorilhon and his followers claim aliens visiting him in the 1970s revealed they had created all life on Earth through genetic engineering.

Cloning produces a new individual using only one person's DNA. The process is technically difficult but conceptually simple. Scientists remove the genetic material from an unfertilised egg, then introduce new DNA from a cell of the animal to be cloned. Under the proper conditions, the egg begins dividing into new cells according to the instructions in the introduced DNA.

Boisselier, who claims two chemistry degrees and previously was marketing director for a chemical company in France, identifies herself as a Raelian "bishop" and said Clonaid retains philosophical but not economic links to the Raelians.

Human cloning for reproductive purposes is banned in several countries. Boisselier would not say where Clonaid has been carrying out its experiments.

Bush administration officials said they were aware of rumours of an announcement but had no plans to comment until after the details were known.

In Rome, fertility doctor Severino Antinori, who said weeks ago that a cloned baby boy would be born in January, dismissed Clonaid's claims and said the group has no scientific credibility.

The news "makes me laugh and at the same time disconcerts me, because it creates confusion between those who make serious scientific research" and those who don't, Antinori said.

"We keep up our scientific work, without making announcements," he added. "I don't take part in this race."

So far scientists have succeeded in cloning sheep, mice, cows, pigs, goats and cats.

Last year, scientists in Massachusetts produced cloned human embryos with the intention of using them as a source of stem cells, but the cloned embryos never grew bigger than six cells.

Many scientists oppose cloning to produce humans, saying it's too risky because of abnormalities seen in cloned animals. - Sapa-AP

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Replies:

  • DNA samples submitted -- Andrey, 22:40:21 12/28/02 Sat
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