The scientists are skeptical: they haven't succeeded in cloning even a monkey
Walla System, Avi Blizovsky and Tamara Traubman
Update 30 / 12 / 2002
The scientists are skeptical: they haven't succeeded in cloning even a monkey
So far, scientists have succeeded in cloning 7 species of animals, but the announcement of the real movement, that a baby was cloned in the image of an adult woman, was received by scientists with skepticism. "I'm skeptical," said Prof. Hagit Maser-Yeron, the chief scientist of the Ministry of Science. "There are rarely breakthroughs in the scientific process, and in the current case we know that no one has yet succeeded in cloning even a monkey, the closest animal to man."
Cloning bypasses the normal reproductive process, where a sperm fertilizes an egg. Instead, in cloning, the genetic cargo is transferred from a cell of an adult animal into an egg from which the genetic cargo has been removed. Usually, the two are brought together using a small electric current and the egg begins to divide and develop into an embryo. The newborn will be genetically identical to the person from whom the adult cell was taken.
But rarely do all the stages of the process end successfully. In most cases, the cloned fetus suffered from severe defects that did not allow it to continue developing in the womb. Many of those born died shortly after birth.
Prof. George Seidel, a cloning expert from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, told "Haaretz" that the animals born represented a statistical victory over the many chances of cloning failure. For example, out of 5,559 attempts to clone mice, only 32 (0.6%) ended in offspring that reached maturity.
"Even when success is already achieved," Seidel said, "it is not always clear why." It is also not clear why there are species that are easier to clone and species that are more difficult." Scientists hypothesize that one of the main problems is that, while the egg is trying to reprogram the genetic load of the adult cell, mistakes occur that cause some of the genes to start working late or too early in development, or not at all. However, Dr. Amir Arab from the Volcanic Institute and other experts, believe that whether the Haralim claim is true or not, it is only a matter of time until they succeed in cloning a person. "It is likely that if someone tries to do this enough times - in the end it will work," Arab said. "Technically, there is no reason why it won't happen someday."
Tamara Traubman
A compilation of news from the Hebrew press
Cloning / the real movement: 4 more cloned babies will be born by February
Prof. Severino Antinori could not believe what he heard: just a few days ago he announced the imminent birth of the world's first cloned baby, and now an eccentric and informed group arose that preceded him. Baby Eve, who was born on Thursday, it was announced at a press conference in Miami, is the first to be created with the technology of genetic replication.
The dramatic announcement was made by the Realist cult, a movement that believes life on Earth was created by aliens. The baby has not been revealed, and in the scientific community there is great doubt as to whether she was indeed cloned. But the Raelites claim that the girl, weighing 3.2 kg, is a "genetic copy" of her mother, a 31-year-old American, created from a skin cell, without fertilization. This means that the baby was created in the image of the "identical twin" of the mother. Eve's mother is a member of the real movement, her husband cannot have children, and she is one of the hundred members of the "order of angels" chosen by the movement for the cloning experiments. The equipment and knowledge for cloning was provided by a controversial biotech company called Clonaid, which is associated with the strange cult.
Prof. Antinori, the one who earned him the global reputation of the "cloning expert", contemptuously dismisses the attempt to steal his first place. At the beginning of January, "his" cloned baby is to be born to a Serbian woman in Belgrade, so he says. In the past year, he often announced the imminent birth of the "first cloned baby", but so far he has not brought any results.
"Clonade does not have the tools and the scientific knowledge to develop what they claim," he states emphatically in an interview with Maariv. "The biologist who heads the company does not understand anything about human cloning." According to him, he met her about a year and a half ago at an academic conference, and there she asked him to explain to her what a clone is. "She also explained to me that the purpose of all the experiments they conduct in the field is to get maximum publicity for the company that stands behind them."
The Raelites say that "cloning is the key to eternal life". The sect's founder, the torturer himself Rael, previously stated this before a committee of the American Congress. The leaders of the sect claim that they intend to operate laboratories for human cloning in Canada, Switzerland, South Korea and the USA. Two years ago, the administration closed a laboratory of the movement in West Virginia, on the grounds that there is no permit to carry out human cloning experiments.
Antinori emphasizes that compared to the "competitors" he is a secular person, who has been involved in the field for over 30 years. For him, the idea of cloning is meant for one thing: "a scientific answer to infertile men who wish to conceive". In Antinori's method, the tissues carrying the DNA will be taken from the father and injected into an egg.
The professor himself is not very popular in the world. One of the prominent opponents of his work is the "father" of Dolly the sheep, Ian Wilmot, who defined Antinori's ambition as "dangerous and irresponsible". The fact that the Italian gynecologist continued to pursue his goal while breaking the law in Europe and other countries only increased the dislike for him.
The Hareal movement, which believes that intelligent extraterrestrials created humans through genetic engineering, claims to have created the first cloned human: a baby girl weighing 3.2 kg, known by the movement as Eve (Hava, in Hebrew). The chief scientist of "Klonaid", a company that the Ralls founded for the purpose of cloning, did not present any evidence to prove her claim and many scientists reacted to her announcement with skepticism.
The scientist, Dr. Brigitte Bousilier, claimed that the baby is a clone of her mother, a 31-year-old woman from the USA. At a press conference held yesterday in Florida, Dr. Bousilier said: "I am very, very happy to announce that the first cloned baby was born on Thursday, at 11:55 in the afternoon. The baby is healthy and the parents are happy. I hope you will remember this when you treat this baby - not as a monster, or as the result of something disgusting."
Dr. Bousilier refused to identify the mother and the baby, as well as where they are. She also refused to reveal in which country the cloning was done (according to her, for fear of harassment by the state), who are the scientists and doctors who are members of her cloning team (for fear of harassment) or to describe the creation of the baby.
"Until genetic tests, which will be done by recognized scientists, prove that the DNA of the baby is the same as that of her mother, the claim of the 'Rals' cannot be taken seriously," said Michel Rebel, professor of molecular genetics from the Weizmann Institute and laureate of the Israel Prize in Medicine. However, some scientists did not rule out the possibility that the baby born was cloned.
Prof. Moti Shohat, director of the genetics institute at the Rabin Medical Center (Bilinson), said that simple genetic tests will be able to "absolutely" prove or rule out the possibility that the baby is a genetic copy of her mother. According to him, "the test is similar to the technique used to test parentage, except that they will have to prove full identity between the mother and the baby."
Bousilier, aware of the skepticism that accompanied her announcement, said that the baby will arrive at her home on Monday, and then "independent experts will get her address to take DNA samples." The DNA tests will be supervised by Dr. Michael Gillen, a journalist from the USA, who until recently served as the science editor of the TV network "ABC" news and holds a doctorate in physics from Cornell University, in the state of New York. Gilan, who was present at the press conference, said that he agreed to supervise the examination under two conditions: that it be done "without limitations" and by "an international group of independent, world-class experts, with whom Dr. Bousilier has no connection and no influence on their choice."
According to him, he is not related to the real movement and does not receive payment from it. Bousilier estimated that the results of the tests will be received in 8-7 days. "You can still go back to your office and treat me as a fraud," she told reporters. "You have one week to do it."
The announcement of the cloning was widely condemned by ethicists, scientists and political leaders - from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to US President George Bush. "Few of the cloned animals survived and many were born with birth defects. Therefore, any attempt to clone a human being would be considered immoral today," said Prof. Rebel, who also serves as the chairman of the National Academy of Sciences' Bioethics Advisory Committee.
According to Prof. Shochat, it will take many years, if at all, until they find sufficient evidence that cloning is a safe method of having children. "We can only know the health consequences of human cloning in the short term. But what about long-term problems? What if the person develops serious diseases at the age of 40 or 60 because of the cloning? Only in another 60 years will we know if this experiment was successful."
Despite the negative feeling that cloning evokes, ethicists question whether cloning could be an acceptable option in certain situations. Shochat mentions, for example, parents whose son was killed in the war or infertile couples for whom conventional fertility methods cannot help. "The problem," Shohat says, "is that there are only rare cases where conventional fertility methods cannot solve the problem, and there will always be people who want to take advantage of the technology. The slippery slope is very short."
Bousilier says that her team achieved success within three months. According to Dr. Amir Arab from the Volcanic Institute, this claim is very puzzling, especially in view of the difficulties and poor chances of success achieved so far in animal cloning. But some scientists claim that the possibility that Busillier's team cloned a baby cannot be completely ruled out. "It is still possible that human cloning is easier than we all thought," said Dr. Robert Lanza of "ACT," an American company that tried to clone a human embryo, to the "Washington Post." The company did not intend to implant it in the uterus, but to extract stem cells from it for research.
Bousilier claims that the current baby was born by caesarean section, and that four other women are pregnant with cloned embryos. According to her, the next baby will be born in about a week or two to a couple of lesbian women from Northern Europe. The other three babies will be born by February. According to her, two of them were cloned from tissues of children from Asia and North America, who died and whose tissues were preserved before their death. "Next month, 20 more cloned embryos will be implanted in women's wombs," said Bousilier, adding that after the first 20 babies are born, "Clonaid will start offering this service for a fee." With shining eyes, she defied the journalists: "I always told you that this day would come."
For the updated news on the Yahoo news site
The members of the Haralim sect claimed from yesterday morning (Friday, 27/12/2002) that a few hours earlier the first cloned baby was born by caesarean section. The news was delivered on behalf of the sect's spokespersons in Los Angeles. (Friday) on the birth of the baby girl
The first clone. Dr. Brigitte Bousilier, the chief scientist of the cloning company "Clonaid", which was founded by the religious movement, officially announced this at a press conference in Florida. Bousilier said that the baby was born on December 26 by caesarean section weighing 3.1 kg to an American woman about 31 years old. It was said that the baby, named Eve, was born outside the US, but the exact location was not given. The mother and daughter did not participate in the press conference "for medical reasons". Bousilier said that four more cloned babies are expected to be born at the end of January.
An "independent inspector" will take DNA samples from the mother and her daughter for genetic testing. It was reported that an answer is expected within nine days. If the baby is indeed a clone of her mother, the test will show that their genetic makeup is identical. "You have a week to treat me as a fraud," said Bousilier.
Scientists doubted that the baby was indeed cloned from the mother's genetic material. "Based on the cloning experience with animals, it is likely that human cloning will be much more difficult," said one of the experts.
So far, scientists have succeeded in cloning a variety of animals, including sheep, cows, goats, pigs and mice. However, many researchers are skeptical about the possibility that the rales succeeded in cloning a baby girl. Scientists who tried to clone animals had to repeat the process dozens or hundreds of times until they obtained a single living offspring. In most cases, the cloned fetus suffered from many defects that did not allow it to continue developing in the womb, and most of the animals that were born alive also died at birth or shortly after.
(Avi Blizovsky)
The real movement: the first cloned baby was born
By Tamara Traubman (courtesy of Walla)
"Klonaid" company: DNA tests will prove that the daughter is genetically identical to her mother; Scientists expressed skepticism
The Hareal movement, a multinational movement that believes that extraterrestrials in the name of "God" created humans, is expected to announce today (Friday) the birth of the first cloned baby. Dr. Brigitte Bousilier, the chief scientist of the "Clonaid" cloning company, which was founded by the religious movement, will officially announce this at a press conference in Florida.
A spokeswoman for the movement, Nadine Gary, gave few details about the birth, but the New York Times reported that the baby was cloned from the genetic material of a thirty-year-old American woman. According to them, the baby was born by caesarean section. The mother and daughter will not participate in the press conference "for medical reasons".
Gary said that Dr. Bousilier intends to show video footage of the baby's birth, and that an "independent inspector" will take DNA samples from the mother and her daughter for genetic testing. If the baby is indeed a clone of her mother, the test will show that their genetic makeup is identical.
So far, scientists have succeeded in cloning a variety of animals, including sheep, cows, goats, pigs and mice. However, many researchers are skeptical about the possibility that the rales succeeded in cloning a baby girl. Scientists who tried to clone animals had to repeat the process dozens or hundreds of times until they obtained a single living offspring. In most cases, the cloned fetus suffered from many defects that did not allow it to continue developing in the womb, and most of the animals that were born alive also died at birth or shortly after.
The leader of the Haralim movement is Rael, a former racing driver, born in France, who says that in 1973 he met extraterrestrials on the summit of a volcano in southern France. The aliens, known as God, took him to their mothership, and told him that they created humans through cloning. After the meeting the man changed his name from Claude Verhalon to Rael.
Rael has branches in many countries in the world, including Israel. According to them, they have more than 25 thousand members. Dr. Bosilia previously managed research for a French pharmaceutical company, and today she teaches chemistry at Hamilton College in upstate New York. In 1997, she founded the Klonaid company with the Harels, with the aim of cloning Adam.
Ethicists and scientists oppose cloning, because with the technical ability currently available in the hands of science, cloning involves many risks for the mother and the baby. In the UN, an international convention is even being formed, which defines cloning for the purposes of childbirth as an infringement of human dignity.
Race between Serbia and Canada - where will the first clone be born
Canadian organization: in two weeks the first cloned baby will be born
by Tamara Traubman
22/12/2002
The Rael movement, a multinational movement that believes that intelligent extraterrestrials created life on Earth, announced late last week that in two weeks the first cloned baby will be born. Dr. Brigitte Bousilier, the chief scientist of "Clonade", a company founded by the Harelites, told Canadian television that the condition of the fetus is "good".
The Harels, who are based in Canada and whose branch also operates in Israel, are competing with the Italian gynecologist Dr. Severino Antinori to obtain the first cloned baby. Antinori, who never presented evidence for his claim, claims that a cloned baby he created will be born in January.
On Thursday, Dr. Bousilier said that in the spring her colleagues cloned 10 embryos. According to her, five attempts to implant the embryos in the womb ended in miscarriage, but now the pregnancy is going well. According to her, the baby will be a genetic copy of a woman from the USA, who is in her thirties, and will be born in two weeks by caesarean section, in a secret place.
So far the Harels have not presented proof of the existence of cloned embryos. According to news agency reports, Bousilier said that an independent television crew would film the birth of the baby, and immediately after he was born, tissue samples would be taken from him. Independent researchers, it was reported, will be able to check if the child is really a genetic copy of his mother.
Many scientists and ethicists oppose cloning because of the moral problems involved, and because experiments on animals have taught that the process involves great risk to the mother and the newborn.
The first cloned baby will be Arab and will be born in Belgrade
Thus declared the Italian cloning researcher, Severino Antinori; According to him, the baby will be born this January; In February, two more cloned births are expected; Many scientists warn: there is a high chance of birth defects
From the Walla!
20/12/2002
The well-known Italian cloning researcher, Severino Antinori, revealed that the first cloned baby would be the son of an Arab father. The Egyptian newspaper "Al Ahram" publishes that Antinori said at a press conference in Rome that the baby will be born this coming January.
At a previous press conference he held in November, Antinori said that "everything leads us to believe that there is a 90-95 percent chance that everything will continue well." According to him, around February two more cloned babies will be born.
Antinori's announcement did not surprise the world of science because the researcher had already stated several times in the past about his nascent plans. Since the birth of the cloned sheep "Dolly" in 1997, researchers have been working to transfer the technology to human trials. Many scientists in Italy were skeptical of the statements of the scientist with a dubious reputation and preferred to wait until there were tangible results that could be tested.
Many in the scientific community warn of the risks arising from human cloning because even in experiments on animals, children were born with defects. Most of the cloned animals died during embryonic development.
"The first cloned baby will be born in Serbia"
"The first cloned child is going to be born this January in Belgrade." This is what the Italian gynecologist Severino Antinori recently said in an interview with the Serbian weekly "Nin".
Antinori repeated his words in recent months according to which there are three women - each in a different country - who are expected to give birth to their children between the months of January and March. "Serbia will be one of the three countries that will go down in history in the field of genetics," he told the weekly. Last month, the professor stated that it is a male baby weighing 2.7 kg, and that there is a 90 percent chance of ending the pregnancy as planned. Antinori now added that the birth is expected to take place in a private clinic.
The controversial scientist ruled out the possibility that this is a destructive move for human society. "The fact that only I and my team know how to carry out the move will not allow a negative use of the technique we have developed", he claimed. Professor Antinori already stated in December 2000 that he wanted to carry out human cloning, and now he makes it clear that the long journey will soon come to an end.
