Genetic Engineering

In the mid 1990s the international guidelines established by the Declaration of Helsinki were modified to allow certain forms of cell manipulation in order to develop germ cells for therapeutic purposes. Scientists are also exploring genetic engineering as a means of combating the HIV virus.

In 1997 the cloning of an adult sheep by Scottish scientist Ian Wilmut brought new urgency to the cloning issue. Prior to this development, cloning had been successful only with immature cells, not those from an adult animal. The breakthrough raised the prospect of human cloning and prompted an international debate regarding the ethical and legal implications of cloning.

Since the cloning of the sheep, nicknamed "Dolly," scientists have found the process of cloning to be more difficult than expected. Since Dolly, scientists have cloned such animals as cows, pigs, monkeys, cats, and even rare and endangered animals. The process of cloning is complex, involving the replacement of the nucleus of an egg cell with the nucleus of a cell from the subject that will be cloned. This process is meticulous, and the failure rate is high.

In November 2001, scientists first successfully inserted the DNA from one human cell into another human egg. Although the eggs began to replicate, they died shortly after the procedure. Human cloning has caused the most intense debate on the issue, with the debate focusing upon scientific, moral, and religious concerns over this possibility. Scientists do not expect that human cloning will be possible for several years.

Evidence suggests that cloned animals have experienced significant health problems, leading to concerns about the vitality of the entire process. Cloned animals tend to be larger at birth, which could cause problems for the female animals giving birth to them. The cloned organisms also tend to become obese at middle age, at least in the case of experimental cloned mice. Moreover, evidence suggests that cloned animals have died because they do not have sufficient IMMUNITY defenses to fight disease.

Dolly lived for six years before dying in February 2003, which is about half of the normal life expectancy of a sheep. Proponents of the cloning experiments suggest that cloning opens a number of possibilities in scientific research, including the nature of certain diseases and the development of genetically-enhanced medications. Scientists have also successfully cloned endangered animals. In 2001, an Italian group cloned an endangered form of sheep, called the European mouflon. About a year and a half earlier, an American company, Advanced Cell Technology, tried unsuccessfully to clone a rare Asian ox. The cloning was initially successful, but the animal died of dysentery 48 hours after birth.

In 2000, a group of 138 countries, including the United States, approved the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety Environment. International

In 1997 a team of scientists at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland, cloned the first adult mammal, a sheep named Dolly.
AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS

concerns over the handling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) prompted the passage of the protocol. It governs such issues as the safe transfer, handling, use, and disposals of GMOs among member countries.