Sir,
I read the letter about cloning from Ronald Harvey in the last issue of Science with great interest, but also with surprise. Mr.Harvey wrote a lot of sensationalist nonsense about Dr.Ian Wilmut's work with sheep. Ian Wilmut is not Dr.Frankenstein .
What exactly did Dr.Wilmut do? He took an egg from one adult sheep, a cell from another, and fused them. Then he grew embryonic cells in a laboratory dish, and implanted the embryos in yet another sheep. this sheep then gave birth to a lamb which was an exact copy of the cell's donor. there was nothing horrific about it at all.
The potential for animal clones is enormous. they can help save species from extinction, and provide vital organs and medicines for humans. Dr. Wilmut and his colleagues made an amazing scientific break through. However, Mr. Harvey does not agree. He sees the birth of the now famous Dolly as the beginning of a horror story.
In theory, the technique Dr. Wilmut used to create Dolly can produce a human clone, but humans are not sheep. there are major genetic differences between the two species. Mr. Harvey warns of human clones appearing within ten year. He also states that each person is unique, and so it is immoral to produce exact copies of humans.
Let's imagine for a moment that Mr. Harvey's prediction is correct. Human personalities are the products of specific circumstances and experiences. No scientific procedure can clone a life! I think we need a rational debate about human cloning, and not sensationalism. Cloning is a wonderful opportunity for humans, not the beginning of the end!