Company tied to religious group claims to have cloned human
Posted on 12/27/2002 11:55:58 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Company tied to religious group claims to have cloned human
12/27/2002
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - A chemist connected to a group that believes life on Earth was created by extraterrestrials claimed Friday to have produced the world's first human clone, a baby girl named Eve.
The 7-pound baby was born Thursday, 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.
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Boisselier, who spoke at a news conference, said the baby is a clone of the 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.
"It is very important to remember that we are talking about a baby," she said. "The baby is very healthy. She is fine, she doing fine. The parents are happy. I hope that you remember them when you talk about this baby, not like a monster, like some results of something that is disgusting."
She said the mother also was doing fine and had resorted to cloning because her mate was infertile.
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 few weeks, another from North America, one from Europe and two from Asia. The European couple is lesbian, she said.
She said the baby will go home in three days, and an independent expert will take DNA samples from the baby to prove she had been cloned. Those test results are expected within a week after the testing.
"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 skeptical 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 unfertilized 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. She is not a specialist in reproductive medicine.
Human cloning for reproductive purposes is banned in several countries. There is no specific law against it in the United States, but the Food and Drug Administration contends it must approve any human experiments in this country. Boisselier would not say where Clonaid has been carrying out its experiments. Bush administration officials said in Washington on Thursday they were aware of rumors of an announcement but had no plans to comment on the matter until after the details were known.
In Rome, fertility doctor Severino Antinori, who said weeks ago he had engineered a cloned baby boy who 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.
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - A chemist connected to a group that believes life on Earth was created by extraterrestrials claimed Friday to have produced the world's first human clone, a baby girl named Eve.
Eve? Haven't I heard this story before?. I thought it was a boy, named Adam...
Oops! I forgot my < /humor > tag....
The baby IS the result of something that is disgusting. However, we don't know the limits of God's grace. If this story is true and the baby ends up becoming a happy, healthy child, I'll give him the credit. Not Dr. Clonaid.
If you call a group a cult, it seems to make it OK to exterminate them, ala WACO.
Any religion is as good as any other religion, so long as they do not advocate the initiation of force for religious purposes. None can prove their founding stories. The only difference between the established religions and the "cults" is the number of adherents.
The validity of their claims is a scientific question that can be resolved by DNA testing. The validity is not in any way affected by their religious beliefs.
Semantic nit-pick: IF this is a true clone, then the "mother" just gave birth to her nearly twin sister, NOT her daughter.
Boisselier, who claims two chemistry degrees and previously was marketing director for a chemical company in France
In other words, Boisselier does NOT have the technical expertise to carry out an actual cloning. Some sort of life scientist, preferably PhD or MD, would be necessary to conduct this kind of research.
In Rome, fertility doctor Severino Antinori, who said weeks ago he had engineered a cloned baby boy who would be born in January, dismissed Clonaid's claims and said the group has no scientific credibility.
As if Antinori is highly credible; given the horrible defects occurring in cloned animals, resulting in death or requiring euthanasia, NO credible scientist would conduct such research with human subjects. That someone would do so, knowing all the problems, is reminescent of the "medical research" carried out by the Nazis.
Many scientists oppose cloning to produce humans, saying it's too risky because of abnormalities seen in cloned animals.
Count me among them. There are many reasons to oppose cloning humans, and that's without throwing in the moral issues to complicate things!
Excuse me, but I have the right to point out that no religion can prove its founding story or doctrine to scientific standards. You are welcome to believe in your religion with all the faith that you have but do not insult us and tell us that you know, as a scientific fact, that your religion is the one true religion.
Every religion, however mainstream, was once someone's heretical cult. Keep that in mind when calling a new religion a cult. Also remember, that freedom of religion that we grant in this nation does not look at the precepts of the religion.
Good point ! Can you imagine an Army of THESE running around?:
Sorry, I did not say what I believed. I merely pointed out that we have no right to ridicule the beliefs of any other religion, no matter how out of the mainstream they are, since our own religion cannot prove its claims any better.
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