SCIENTISTS IN SCOTLAND HAVE MADE AN EXACT COPY OF AN 
ADULT MAMMAL FOR THE FIRST TIME -- A BIOLOGICAL PROCESS CALLED 
CLONING.  THE ANIMAL IN QUESTION IS A SHEEP.  THEIR TECHNIQUE 
MERGES GENETIC TISSUE FROM ONE EWE INTO THE CELLS OF ANOTHER, 
WHICH THEN BEARS A LAMB IDENTICAL TO THE DONOR SHEEP.  THE NEW 
TECHNOLOGY HAS ENORMOUS SCIENTIFIC AND ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS, 
BECAUSE AS V-O-A SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT DAVID MCALARY REPORTS, IT 
RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER SCIENTISTS WILL EVENTUALLY MAKE 
COPIES OF HUMANS.

A TEAM FROM THE ROSLIN INSTITUTE IN EDINBURGH HAS STUNNED 
THE SCIENTIFIC WORLD WITH A BIOLOGICAL FEAT THAT HAS LONG ELUDED 
RESEARCHERS.  THE GROUP LEADER -- IAN WILMUT -- TOLD U-S 
TELEVISION INTERVIEWERS THAT HE AND HIS COLLEAGUES HAVE MADE A 
TWIN OF AN ADULT SHEEP.

         WHAT WE'VE DONE IS TAKEN A CELL FROM ANOTHER EWE AND 
         THEN USED IT TO DEVELOP A NEW LAMB.  BECAUSE THE CELL 
         CAME FROM THE EWE, THE LAMB IS, OF COURSE, GENETICALLY 
         IDENTICAL TO THE EWE -- JUST LIKE HAVING A GENETICALLY 
         IDENTICAL TWIN EXCEPT THAT THE EWE IS SIX OR SEVEN YEARS
         OLDER THAN THE LAMB.

TO ACCOMPLISH THIS, THE RESEARCHERS TOOK AN UNFERTILIZED EGG FROM
AN ADULT EWE AND EMPTIED IT OF ITS GENETIC CONTENTS.  AN EGG HAS 
ONLY THE GENETIC INFORMATION FROM THE MOTHER'S SIDE, BUT WITH 
THAT REMOVED, THE SCIENTISTS COULD THEN INSERT THE GENES FROM 
ANOTHER SHEEP'S CELL -- A CELL WHICH CARRIED THE GENETIC CODE 
FROM BOTH ITS PARENTS.

THE HYBRID EGG WAS THEN IMPLANTED INTO A THIRD EWE.  SEVEN MONTHS
AGO, IT BORE A LAMB NAMED DOLLY WHICH IS AN EXACT DUPLICATE OF 
THE OTHER SHEEP WHICH CONTRIBUTED THE GENES.

THE REASON THE SCOTTISH RESEARCHERS SUCCEEDED WHERE 
OTHERS HAVE FAILED WAS IN ENSURING THAT BOTH CELLS WERE COMBINED 
WHILE THEY WERE IN THE SAME STAGE OF THEIR GROWTH AND DUPLICATION
CYCLE.

MR. WILMUT ENVISIONS THIS AS A TECHNIQUE TO BENEFIT MEDICINE AND 
AGRICULTURE.  BY INSERTING CERTAIN DESIRED GENES, RESEARCHERS CAN
USE THE METHOD TO DEVELOP SEVERAL COPIES OF AN ANIMAL WITH 
SPECIFIC TRAITS.  THE TRAITS MIGHT BE ONES TO MAKE AN ANIMAL 
MEATIER OR HARDIER.  BUT THE SCOTTISH SCIENTIST SAYS THEY MIGHT 
ALSO BE GENETICALLY-CAUSED DISEASES FOR WHICH THE ANIMALS CAN 
BECOME BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES FOR STUDY.

         THE REASON WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT IS THAT BY USING 
         DEVELOPMENTS FROM THIS TECHNIQUE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO 
         BRING FORWARD NEW HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS, WE WILL BE ABLE 
         TO CARRY OUT RESEARCH INTO THE CAUSES OF GENETIC 
         DISEASES.  SO AS WELL AS BEING OF FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL
         INTEREST, THIS ALSO WILL CREATE NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR 
         THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN DISEASES.

BUT THE SPECTER THAT THE TECHNIQUE COULD BE MISUSED IS HAUNTING TO
SOME.

         THERE ARE AS MANY PROMISES IN THIS EXPERIMENT AS THERE 
         ARE WORRIES.

THIS IS DR. RONALD MUNSON, A SPECIALIST ON ETHICS AT THE 
UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI, WHO SUGGESTS THAT THE NEW CLONING 
TECHNOLOGY WOULD LET PEOPLE PLAY GOD.

         I THINK THE REASON WE TAKE IT SO SERIOUSLY IS THAT IT 
         MAKES IT VERY CLEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME THAT WE ARE NOW 
         IN CHARGE OF A LARGE SEGMENT OF THE BIOLOGICAL WORLD, 
         THAT WE HAVE, IN EFFECT, BECOME THE BUSINESS MANAGERS OF
         EVOLUTION.  THE PROMISES THAT DR. WILMUT RIGHTLY POINTS 
         TO ARE PARALLELED BY A NUMBER OF AT LEAST CHANGES IF NOT
         DANGERS.

ONE DANGER IN AGRICULTURE, FOR EXAMPLE, MIGHT BE THE 
CREATION OF A HERD OF DUPLICATE ANIMALS SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE SAME 
ILLNESSES WHICH COULD KILL THEM ALL.  GENETIC DIVERSITY HAS 
ALWAYS ALLOWED SURVIVORS, BUT GENETIC SIMILARITY COULD ELIMINATE 
THIS NATURAL BENEFIT.

THE ISSUE THAT HAS MANY PEOPLE MOST WORRIED IS THE POSSIBILITY 
THE CLONING TECHNIQUE COULD WORK WITH PEOPLE.  DR. MUNSON AND 
OTHERS SPEAK OF THE POSSIBILITY OF CLONING A DYING CHILD OR A 
GENIUS LIKE PHYSICIST ALBERT EINSTEIN.  WHILE THOSE APPARENTLY 
WELL INTENTIONED ACTS WOULD STILL RAISE ETHICAL QUESTIONS, HE 
POINTS OUT THAT THE DARK SIDE OF THE PROCEDURE IS THE POTENTIAL 
FOR UNSCRUPULOUS SCIENTISTS TO CREATE MODERN FRANKENSTEINS.

         I DON'T SEE THAT CLONING HUMANS IS NECESSARILY A BAD 
         THING.  ALL I SEE IT IS -- AS WITH SO MUCH TECHNOLOGY --
         IT CAN BE A BAD THING.  IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.

THE ROSLIN INSTITUTE TEAM MAKES CLEAR IT IS OPPOSED TO HUMAN 
CLONING.  IAN WILMUT CALLS FOR LAWS TO BAN IT LIKE THOSE THAT 
EXIST IN BRITAIN.

FOR THOSE WHO WOULD WANT TO MAKE COPIES OF SOME PRECIOUS PERSON, 
HE HAS A WARNING:

         IF YOU MAKE A COPY OF A PERSON, IT IS  NOT  THE SAME 
         PERSON.  I WOULD FEEL DEEPLY SORRY -- I AM A FATHER 
         MYSELF -- I WOULD FEEL DEEPLY SORRY FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS 
         NURSING A SICK CHILD.  BUT I'M AFRAID YOU CAN'T GET THAT
         CHILD BACK.

IAN WILMUT OF THE ROSLIN INSTITUTE IN EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND.  

24-Feb-97
Source: Voice of America