Posted on 01/17/2006 8:36:53 AM PST by .cnI redruM
The U.S. biotech firm Clonaid has sprung to the rescue of the embattled cloning scientist Hwang Woo-sook with an offer to join a research partnership at its secret research facility. Clonaid was founded by the Raelian Movement, a cult-like religious group that maintains humans were created by aliens and claims to have cloned a human being. The company is represented by French scientist Dr. Brigitte Boisselier.
A press release from the company on Monday said Boisselier has written to Hwang to outline the proposal. Boisselier said she believed Hwang’s discoveries to be original and that groups opposing stem cell research such as the Catholic Church conspired to undermine Hwang by making it appear as though the scientist concocted his data. She said he had become a victim of a conservative anti-scientific faction, according to the press release.
There is little chance that Hwang, who has maintained his opposition to creating fully-grown clones of human beings, will join the firm. Clonaid probably knew this was a long shot and may have made the proposal to promote the religion.
In 2002 Clonaid announced that a girl named Eve was born through cloning somatic cells donated by 30-year-old American woman. At that time, the announcement attracted worldwide attention, but the Raelians refused to produce verifiable proof, ostensibly to protect the girl, so the scientific world believes the claim to be fiction.
Clonaid founder Rael, formerly known as Claude Vorilhon, teaches that a race of aliens called the Elohim created human beings, and Jesus, Buddha and Mohammed were recipients of messages from the aliens.
I figured he was being considered for SeeBS news anchorman.
If the Raelians already have the human cloning process down pat, to point where they're producing healthy full-term babies, as they claim, what do they need Hwang for? < /s>
I really wish the media would stop giving these loony con artists free publicity. I'll be really annoyed if any media outlet outside of Korea even mentions this latest stunt.
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