Another clone claimer

I've been looking in to other scientists who have been involved in making cloning claims, and yes I have found one more, but we need to go back to 2002. This man fits the profile of other scientists who have revealed their intention to clone humans. The checklist is as follows:

Souce: Guardian UK

Reproductive specialist- check.
Wants to cure infertility, by cloning-check.
Working from an undisclosed location (middle east)- check.
Won't publish his research on cloning- check.
Linked to the Raelian Sect and Clonaid- check.
The only he's missing is a cloned dog named Snuppy.

The gentleman in question is Professor Severino Antinori, an italian reproductive specialist, who has a history of working on the fringes of ethical science. Antinori's specialty was reproductive technology for older women. In 1994, Antinori caught the attention of the media for providing IVF treatment to a 59 year old woman, resulting in a pregnancy (Source BMJ News 15 January 1994). In 2002, Antinori claimed that a cloned child was expected from one of his patients within months (Source: CBS News). Obviously, neither scientific results or the cloned babies were ever produced. This is a familiar story in the cloning controversy. There are a number of "maverick" "mad" or just plain ridiculous scientists who make dramatic claims and produce no evidence. Whilst they retreat underground, I think that their function has been to desensitise the public to the notions of a much morally less confronting issue of therapeutic cloning.

Next time I will be looking at the cloning claims of a company that on the face of it seems to be honest and produce evidence at the very least....

South Korean scientist and claims of cloning embryos

Last time I mentioned that I was going to talk about more credible claims of reproductive cloning. And I really thought I was on to something. I had read an initial report from the BBC back in 2004, about the claims of a South Korean Scientist, Dr Hwang Woo-Suk, who had published work in the well respected journal, Science, reporting to have cloned 30 embryos (Source: BBC News). He had also published another work, also in Science, a year later, and at the time these results were respected by the scientific community. The results released were all peer reviewed by Science.  Hwang had also gained credibility by cloning his dog, "Snuppy". Hwang was celebrated as a hero in Korea, and was given millions of dollars by the Korean government in reward and for further research (Source: Asian Scientist).

Source: Asian Scientist

Sounds interesting, but it was all too good to be true. Soon after, it was found that Hwang's research was fabricated. Egg donors for the research were women who worked in the laboratory, and there was many more eggs used in the process than first indicated (Source: BBC News) Hwang was accused of fraud, embezzlement and ethics violation and was convicted of embezzlement in 2009 (Source: Nature Volume 461, 2009)

But the story gets better.  In 2011, Hwang was rescued from Lybia in the wake of the civil war there and was linked to exiled Lybian leader Muammar Gaddafi. It is thought that Hwang was being funded to set up a stem cell clinic in Lybia (Source: Asian Scientist)

The story has similar elements to other cloning claims I have explored. The only exceptions are:

• Hwang's work was published by a leading, peer reviewed journal. Twice.
• Hwang wasn't lying about the cloning of his dog, Snuppy. It was confirmed that Snuppy was a clone.

From my perspective, the motivation for Hwang to do what he did is obvious. He gained recognition and large amounts of money for his works. There are high stakes involved in producing results proving reproductive cloning at the early embryo stage. Maybe this is why the weird, wonderful and strange have been attracted to claiming they can clone a human.

The Raelians and their cloning claims

I'm at home sitting on the couch with my cat Jewels, and I just stumbled on this video. It's quite long, so if you don't have much time, just watch the first 3 minutes.

After watching it, even the cat seems sceptical about the claims of Rael and Dr Brigitte Bosselier. Since the end of 2002, Dr Bosselier has claimed to have cloned at least 5 people. To date there has not been any scientific evidence to support her claims, and when you throw aliens into the mix, it's even less likely. 

Next time I'm going to look at a credible claim to have produced a human clone, but even credible science is in this area is still taboo, and attracts a label of "science gone wrong".

Reactions to Dr Seed's plan to clone a human

It's not difficult to find the reactions of leading scientists and politicians to Dr Seed's plan to clone a human in 1998. Here are some important ones:

“He’s just a silly old man"                                                                                   Professor Ian Wilmut, Scientist who created Dolly the Sheep, 1998  

“This week, like many Americans, I learned the profoundly troubling news that a member of the scientific community is actually laying plans to clone a human being. Personally, I believe that human cloning raises deep concerns. We know it's possible for some to ignore the consensus of their colleagues and proceed without regard for our common values.”                                                                                
 Bill Clinton 10 January, 1998. 

“My first reaction here is somebody who is trying to make a quick buck off of self-advertising”  
Lord Winston, ‘Father’ of IVF technology, 1998.                                                                                                                  

“I think his science is no better than his theology”                                             Thomas Murray, a member of the National Bioethics Committee, 1998.

Although Dr Seed was very easy to discredit, he was extremely effective in harnessing the attention of the scientific community and the public world wide. Having been widely condemned for his claims, he quickly faded from the limelight. But I think he fuelled the controversy of producing the first human clone. He paved the way for the weird and the wonderful out there to quietly go about their attempts to produce, or at least talk about their attempts in reproductive cloning. I'm going to be exploring who else is out there in the field of reproductive cloning, who's doing it, where are they, and are they pursuing a moral and ethical approach to it. Stay tuned.....

The Seed sprouts in the human cloning debate.

Photo courtesy of: MSN

On 8 January 1998, Dr Richard Seed, a physicist, announced plans that he wanted to create  the first human clone, before any laws could be passed restricting it, using the same techniques to clone Dolly the sheep. He was seeking $2M in funding from private investors and advised that he planned to clone 500 babies per year. But his claims shifted, when he was condemned for taking advantage of vulnerable couples, he said that he would clone himself. But when he was again condemned for being a megalomaniac, he then changed his plans again to clone his wife Gloria.

Seed was a Harvard graduate, had no lab backing, had connections with Clonaid run by The Raelian Sect and had no evidence to back up his claims that he could clone a human. In terms of a controversy, Seed was the perfect “mad scientist”. He was so easy to discredit but he fuelled fears about human cloning already present since the birth Dolly the sheep. I believe he paved the way for other scientists to come forward and stake their claims on the “race” to be the first to clone a human. To demonstrate his extreme views, here is one of his quotes:

"God made man in his own image. God intended for man to become one with God. Cloning and the reprogramming of DNA is the first serious step in becoming one with God.” 
Richard Seed

Next time I will be looking at what others said in response to Seeds outrageous claims.

Dr Zavos largely unscathed for his cloning work

Source:  Fertility Zone

Dr Zavos, a physicist and fertility expert is portrayed in the clip from my last post as an eerie scientist in an underground clinic. To an extent he is, but he isn’t doing anything illegal in the countries he works in and his goal is to assist couples to have their own children.

The ethical issue comes from the safety of procedures and the techniques used. (For example, blending human DNA with  bovine eggs is grotesque!).  Although he has been exploring his treatments for some years now, he is not widely spoken about. 

There are only a few media reports about Dr Zavos, and whilst the scientific community seem to scorn him, this is one of the few comments I have found about him. 


"I do not know of any credible evidence that suggests Dr Zavos can clone a human being"
Lord Winston-Father of IVF Technology


Whilst Dr Zavos's procedures are potentially unsafe and unethical, from my research it seems that he has largely avoided scrutiny from the public for his attempts to clone a human. He is framed as a "mad scientist" and someone who doesn't have evidence to support his claims, yet he is able to continue his work in undisclosed locations. How has Dr Zavos managed to evade the law and continue his work? Or more importantly, have there been others who blazed a trail for him to more quietly produce the first human clone?