March 29, 2024

Humans to be cloned within 50 years, scientist predicts

This year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine co-laureate, English scientist Sir John Gurdon, has predicted that within 50 years it will be possible to clone babies. Although mammals have been cloned, all attempts to clone humans have failed. Many of the animals have been deformed.

Sir John feels that the public will overcome its revulsion at cloning if they perceive that it offers health benefits. He said: “I take the view that anything you can do to relieve suffering or improve human health will usually be widely accepted by the public – that is to say if cloning actually turned out to be solving some problems and was useful to people, I think it would be accepted.”

Sir John was the first researcher to clone an animal – a frog, back in 1962. He was speaking on BBC Radio Four’s program The Life Scientific.

MIchael Cook
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