E-Paper
'It?s not just about creating monsters'
In 1997, Dr Alan Colman cloned a sheep called Dolly and was accused of ?playing God?. Now he has put cloning behind him and works as Chief Scientific Officer at the Singapore-based ES Cell International Pvt Ltd. He talks to Sanchita Sharma about his new passion, finding a cure for diabetes, and his opposition to human cloning. Excerpts from the interview:
In 1997, Dr Alan Colman cloned a sheep called Dolly and was accused of ‘playing God’. Now he has put cloning behind him and works as Chief Scientific Officer at the Singapore-based ES Cell International Pvt Ltd. He talks to Sanchita Sharma about his new passion, finding a cure for diabetes, and his opposition to human cloning. Excerpts from the interview:
Do you think cloning humans is ethical?
I’m against human cloning, but for different reasons. I’m concerned about safety issues, as you have to practise on human foetuses, with high risk of abortions and deformities. Even when we cloned Dolly, we had to discard 400 foetuses before we got it right. Human reproductive cloning is immoral and should not be done.
How can reproductive cloning be stopped, especially if the technique falls into the wrong hands?
It can only be stopped through legislation. But I agree that it is difficult to control as labs can be set up anywhere, given the money and know-how.
What can genetic engineering techniques be used for?
Genetic engineering is not just about creating monsters. It involves the modification, replication, removal or termination of existing genes. There’s the genetic engineering of mammals for biomedical applications. Tracy, the transgenetic sheep, was genetically induced to produce large amounts of human protein in milk. There are now 10,000 such sheep in existence and their milk is used to make medicine for cystic fibrosis.
Embryonic stem cell research is being done to find cures for diseases such as diabetes, stroke, cancer and hepatitis. Then there’s reproductive cloning, where the nucleus with the genetic information is sucked out and replaced with a cultured cell from the skin or ear of another animal. Fusion forms a new nucleus in the unfertilised egg. In the case of sheep, the process takes about 150 days.
Do you think by cloning Dolly, you’ve made it easier for groups like Cloneaid to clone humans? Can, say, Saddam Hussein, be cloned?
Living people can be cloned, but it’s impossible to clone the dead, as the cells so far have had to be preserved in liquid nitrogen. Clones are anyway not carbon copies and like identical twins, can be psychologically very different.
Why have you moved on to diabetes?
My main aim is to find a cure for diabetes. Stem cells can be used to find cures for diabetes, cancer and even to repair damaged hearts.
