<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7447/1036-a?etoc">http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/328/7447/1036-a?etoc</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><EM>London</EM> Nadeeja Koralage </DIV>
<DIV>
<P>"The scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep has announced that he
will apply for a licence to clone human embryos.</P>
<P>Professor Ian Wilmut told the <I>BMJ</I> that he still opposed reproductive
cloning but that the research could provide new treatments for diseases such as
motor neurone disease that may involve the use of stem cells or small molecule
drugs.</P>
<P>Therapeutic cloning has been legal in the United Kingdom since 2001, but the
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has not yet awarded a licence to
any group to do it; nor will the authority will disclose whether any group has
applied to do it. Professor Wilmut's work would involve removing the DNA from a
cell that belonged to someone with motor neurone disease. This DNA would be
inserted into a precursor cell, which is taken from an embryo at a very early
stage, and developed into motor neurones, which degenerate in motor neurone
disease.</P>
<P>Life expectancy in patients with motor neurone disease, from onset of
symptoms, is two to five years, with half of all patients dying within 14 months
of diagnoses.</P>
<P>George Levy, chief executive of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, said
therapeutic cloning "may revolutionise the future treatment [of this condition]
as well as a great number of other degenerative conditions."</P>
<P>He said that he recognised that therapeutic cloning raised important moral,
ethical, and religious concerns, but added: "We will support this work as long
as we are satisfied it is legal, has a sound scientific rationale, and has the
potential to bring us closer to treatments."</P>
<P>Fertility expert Professor Robert Winston said that he was "surprised" at the
press attention received by the proposed application: "A very small minority,
for religious reasons, believe that an embryo at this stage is the same as a
human being. But the vast majority of people in the UK believe that this is not
the case. The wide scientific consensus in the UK is that this kind of research
is immensely useful and very good.</P>
<P>"Motor neurone disease is a very nasty disease. It is an ethical imperative
that we research ways of treating it."</P>
<P>Professor Winston added that he had four licences from the Human
Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for various projects but was not involved
in therapeutic cloning.</P>
<P>Patrick Cushworth, spokesman for the pro-life charity Life, said the
application would give false hope to people with motor neurone disease.</P>
<P>However, he was certain that Professor Wilmut's application would be
successful: "If the authority were to deny Professor Wilmut the licence, it
would reveal the lack of confidence there is in this legislation."</P>
<P>Professor David King, director of the independent watchdog Human Genetics
Alert, said the research risked giving "crucial help to those who want to clone
babies." He added that his organisation would write to the authority urging it
not to allow the research to go ahead.</P>
<P>The application will be going through ethical committees before being
submitted to the authority."</P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>--------</FONT></P>
<P>- Brett Paatsch</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>