Clones?

[IWantToTellYou]

I just heard on CNN that another clone baby has been born to a lesbian couple in Holland.

On Christmas Eve, a clone baby was supposedly born to a couple here in Canada, probably Quebec.

Do you think that these are credible stories OR do you think that this cult is just taking us for a ride?

I mean, they were supposed to do some tests on the first clone named "Eve", but the parents don't want to anymore. It would mean that the baby would be taken away for a few days while the tests are being conducted...

Do you think this is real or a just a ruse?

[JDanRyan]

Frankly, the Raelians (the cult trying to birth a clone) have been trying for a while; I remember reading about their early efforts a few years ago. While the science is there, it's not as easy as all that, and unless they were really lucky it may just be wishful thinking. If possessing theory automatically meant success when you tried it the first few times, we'd all have our computers running off of electricity produced by cold fusion.

Will there be a human clone birth? It's possible, although whether we should raises a whole host of ethical concerns. Has it bone done by these folks? Probably not, although their chances are not that bad...

[beatlewho01-02]

These guys are weird. They are atheists, they don't believe in evolution. Do you know what they believe. They believe that we were made by aliens. Hence their name. Did you see the picture of the person behind this supposed clone. She is butt ugly. If you watch The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, you'll know what she looks like. He makes fun of her. Anyway, I think these weirdos are taking us for a ride. It's a hoax, it's a graemlins/angry11.gif hoax.

[ShowTunes]

It's a crock. Any excuse they give for not testing the DNA should raise huge red flags (if their background and lack of standing in the scientific community haven't already done that). The likelihood is extremely good that they know the babies aren't clones and thus are yolding (BSing) us, either to familiarize people with their cult or to drum up business from credulous individuals who want clone babies. There's also a small likelihood that they have deluded themselves into believing the babies are clones.

In any event, these people are not legitimate scientists. A legit biologist who developed a real method of cloning would write scholarly papers about it, have those papers peer reviewed, and reveal the methods used so that other scientists can attempt to replicate their work, and thus prove that the biologist discovered a real process. Reputable scientists DON'T make extreme claims and then make excuses why they can't provide proof that the claims are true.

Aviva

[beatlegirl9977]

I have my doubts about it. Until there's some sort of DNA testing proof, I won't believe it happened. Even then, it might all depend on who's doing the DNA testing and whether or not they're credible.

[Tim]

I have no problems with cloning. I think the one in Italy soon may well be real.

[JDanRyan]

Originally Posted By beatlegirl9977:
I have my doubts about it. Until there's some sort of DNA testing proof, I won't believe it happened. Even then, it might all depend on who's doing the DNA testing and whether or not they're credible.<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Well, we can scratch Michael Guillen from that list. His credibility just went to hell:

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CLONING_GUILLEN?SITE=NYBUE&SECTION=HOME

Jan 5, 9:17 AM EST
From AP Wire
Report: Journalist Pitched Cloning Story

NEW YORK (AP) -- The former ABC News science editor who said he would verify claims that the first human clone had been born tried months ago to sell exclusive coverage of the cloning to the major broadcast networks, according to a report published Sunday.

CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, HBO and Fox Entertainment all were approached by freelance television journalist Michael Guillen, The New York Times reported.

At Fox, Guillen proposed a reality-based show on the cloning process, starting before the births, the Times said. He even offered to produce it and be the on-air host, but Fox rejected the proposal.

"We thought it was more appropriate for our news department and we referred it to them," Joe Earley, a Fox spokesman, told the Times.

Another network executive, who the Times did not identify, said Guillen proposed an exclusive documentary on the cloning at a price of more than $100,000. The executive said the offer would have given the network too little editorial control.

Guillen stepped into the cloning spotlight a week ago when he announced he would organize experts to independently test the claims of Clonaid, a company linked to a religious sect that believes life on Earth was created by extraterrestrials. The group claimed it had created the first cloned human, a girl it said was born to an American mother Dec. 26, but no DNA tests have yet verified the claim.

Brigitte Boisselier, Clonaid's chief executive, said Saturday that the DNA testing on the child had been delayed because the child's parents were concerned about legal ramifications if they came forward. She said they promised to tell her Monday whether they would allow the testing.

Boisselier also announced Saturday that a second child cloned by the group had been born to Dutch parents, though no tests have verified that.

Guillen, who said he was not being paid by Clonaid to arrange the testing, also pitched a story on the cloning process to the Times in May, saying he was the only reporter allowed to follow a couple trying to have a baby through cloning involving a Kentucky fertility specialist, the newspaper reported.

"During the better part of the past five years, I've cultivated close relationships with all the major human cloning scientists worldwide," Guillen wrote in his proposal, the Times said. "In fact, I know more about what's going on than any of the individual players; that's because they all confide in me."

Editors of the Times refused Guillen's offer, the newspaper said.

Guillen holds a Ph.D. from Cornell University and taught physics at Harvard before going into television journalism. He worked at ABC News from 1988 until last year. He has a written a few books, including "Five Equations That Changed the World: The Power and Poetry of Mathematics," which was named a book of the year by Publishers Weekly.

[beatlegirl9977]

Originally Posted By JDanRyan:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Originally Posted By beatlegirl9977:
I have my doubts about it. Until there's some sort of DNA testing proof, I won't believe it happened. Even then, it might all depend on who's doing the DNA testing and whether or not they're credible.<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Well, we can scratch Michael Guillen from that list. His credibility just went to hell:

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CLONING_GUILLEN?SITE=NYBUE&SECTION=HOME

</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">Yup.... I figured that would happen!!

[Maggie Mae]

I have a serious problem with this cloning thing... people have said they want to clone their son or daughter so they can have an exact bone marrow match, so that they can save that son or daughter from dying of leukemia, which is a crock. What that amounts to is nothing more than growing surplus babies for spare parts. It's sickening. You just know with all the corruption that's out there that there's going to be horrible abuses when it comes to this... .

I sincerely hope that the reports of a cloned baby are false! I'd like to think that there are still people with some morals out there.

[kc]

Definitely not in favour of it; the very idea gives me the willies...

[ShowTunes]

I think it's too easy to dismiss the potential of cloning simply on the basis that it might be used for so-called immoral purposes. That's an argument that's been raised about virtually every medical procedure and scientific discovery since day one. Before we discuss that, however, let's prove that cloning humans is possible. Otherwise we're talking rules for a fantasy universe.

And BTW, I don't think that our elected officials are competent to make the decision to ban all cloning research. There are plenty of medical ethicists around the country who are much better educated on these matters and have thought much more deeply on them.

[SF4-EVER]

One thing that worries me about the cloning issue is the possibility that if/when humans are cloned, society will stigmatize the clones. After all, clones are always evil in the movies, right? graemlins/images/icons/rolleyes.gif *Clones need to be treated as they really are -- humans who just happen to be the genetic twins of someone else. They shouldn't be treated as sources for spare organs; besides, I think at some point we'll learn how to grow organs from stem cells. You can't use clones to "replace" other people either -- my whole "Lennon's Line" series is an argument for that.

I don't think this group has actually cloned anyone, but eventually someone will, just to prove it can be done. And when it happens, I just hope the child will be healthy and won't be treated as a freak.

[Hari's Chick]

Originally Posted By Maggie Mae:
You just know with all the corruption that's out there that there's going to be horrible abuses when it comes to this... .
<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">I agree with you Maggie. I don't think the human race has yet proved itself sensible enough to handle such an enormous responsibility.

[LadyMichelleBelle]

Originally Posted By IWantToTellYou:
I just heard on CNN that another clone baby has been born to a lesbian couple in Holland.

On Christmas Eve, a clone baby was supposedly born to a couple here in Canada, probably Quebec.

Do you think that these are credible stories OR do you think that this cult is just taking us for a ride?

I mean, they were supposed to do some tests on the first clone named "Eve", but the parents don't want to anymore. It would mean that the baby would be taken away for a few days while the tests are being conducted...

Do you think this is real or a just a ruse?<font size="2" face="Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif">if that's real, Oh GOD!! How human can be so cruel!!! graemlins/devil9.gif

[Magill]

This whole human cloning idea is sick. Sheep were bad enough! I do not approve. It's unnatural and un- graemlins/god.gif like.

[ Feb 04, 2003, 10:13 AM: Message Edited By: Magill ]

[BrazilianFlag]

One thing no-one can explain to me - why on Earth would you clone a person? To live forever, as one said on the TV, or to have an exact copy of someone you love?

Folks, c'mon. A clone would be another person. Identical to the original DNA holder, but another person, raised at another time, not the person you lost and certainly not you living again.

That said, I truly believe the Clonaid babies are the greatest hoax ever told. Until they come with an independent DNA test, I will stick to my cepticism (sp?)

[Magill]

Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer?
And where are the clones?
There ought to be clones...
Well, maybe next year

graemlins/laugh2.gif HEE HEE...JUST KIDDIN' YA'ALL! graemlins/laugh2.gif

[Prelly]

what silly people... saying they made a clone baby but not actually showing the baby... did it come out deformed or sommat?

Its prolly just a lie..