Leading fertility experts across the world last night united in heaping derision on the claim that a biotechnology company had produced the world’s first cloned human being.
The company, Clonaid — established by the Raelian sect which believes life on Earth was created by aliens 25 000 years ago — announced on Friday that it had created a viable embryo from tissue samples taken from an unnamed American woman. The end result, a baby called Eve, was born on Boxing Day, according to Clonaid director Brigitte Boisselier.
The statement was treated initially with wary scepticism which has turned, over the last 24 hours, into open contempt. ‘Nearly all scientists will regard Clonaid’s claim as ludicrous,’ said Lord Winston, the British fertility expert. ‘This strange cult is publicity-seeking. We should take this with a huge amount of Christmas salt.’
Even more forthright was the world’s leading expert on primate cloning. ‘I don’t believe it for a minute,’ said Tanja Dominko, who has carried out hundreds of attempts to clone monkeys, the closest species to human beings on which cloning experiments have been carried out. Dr Dominko said her work at the Oregon Primate Research Centre produced not a single pregnancy in more than 300 attempts. Instead, the centre’s efforts produced grotesquely abnormal embryos, some with cells with no chromosomes, some with multiple nuclei, including one cell with nine nuclei.
Despite this Clonaid insists it managed to create five successful pregnancies out of the 10 cloned embryos that it implanted in women earlier this year. The other five ‘spontaneously terminated’, Boisselier said.
The first of these successful implants, Eve, was born three days ago. The next is due to be born in Europe in a few days, while three others will be delivered in three or four weeks, according to Clonaid.
Such a startling success rate has only fuelled doubts. ‘It is also highly suspicious that Clonaid didn’t produce a scientist at their press conference to explain what they had done, and how they had achieved success. This is common practice when making any major scientific announcement,’ Dr Ian Gibson, chairman of the Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology, said.
Dr Harry Griffin, head of the Roslin Institute, which created the world’s first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, also raised major doubts. ‘All the groups that work on cloning with animals — cattle, sheep, pigs, mice, goats — have all reported a high incidence of miscarriage deaths, a high incidence of deaths seen after birth and problems with the clones later on in life.’
Nevertheless, Clonaid says it will now proceed with plans to implant to a further 20 women with cloned embryos, adding to a growing list of plans outlined by various groups who have said they are ready to produce identikit babies.
For example, Panos Zavos, a US-based fertility specialist whose business empire includes the SpermRUs fertil ity testing service, says he has several clients who are also expected to give birth soon.
Similarly, Severino Antinori, the controversial Italian fertility doctor claims to have three pregnancies of cloned children nearing full term. He has also discounted Clonaid’s announcement, saying that their work lacked ‘scientific corroboration’.
For its part, Clonaid has said it will use the services of former ABC TV science editor Michael Guillen to provide that corroboration. Guillen says he has selected a DNA expert who will take samples from both Eve and her mother to see if the pair are, indeed, genetically identical. Results can be expected in 10 days, he says. – Guardian Unlimited Â