Radical scientist to help open cloning clinics in ...
OTC 01.12.98 12:01
TOKYO, Dec. 1 (Kyodo) -- By: Derick Atienza A maverick U.S.
scientist who sparked an ethical debate last year about his plans
to clone humans said Tuesday he will participate in a Japan-based
project to develop genetic technology that he hopes will
eventually make human cloning possible.
Richard Seed, a physicist based in Chicago, outlined at a news
conference a five-part plan to help infertile couples, treat
genetic defects and clone endangered animal species such as the
white tiger, by bringing to Japan "advanced assisted
reproductive technology."
After announcing plans in December 1997 to be the first scientist
to clone a human being, Seed said in September he decided to
prove the procedure by cloning himself. He now says he will clone
his wife, a process that will take at least two years to
complete.
The proposed projects include establishing clinics in Japan that
will perform such services as single sperm implantation, embryo
transfers and in vitro fertilization, he said.
The clinics will also provide comprehensive diagnoses to probe
genetic anomalies, through such methods as ultrasound and
color-staining of chromosomes, he said. Other applications in the
future may include cloning spare organs and identical humans, he
added.
James Ryan, head of a Tokyo-based firm that is coordinating the
project, said animal-cloning facilities are scheduled to be
completed August 1999 in Kamifurano on Hokkaido. He said the
first clinics will be completed in Chiba Prefecture by June.
The project is estimated to cost 20 million dollars and will
require a core group of 20 senior scientists, Ryan said.
Asked about the legal difficulties and adverse public opinion
that will likely greet such a project in the country, Seed said,
"In my opinion, the demand for infertility treatment will
overcome all political obstacles."
The application of cloning technology in Japan is limited to
improving the quality of livestock. A Japanese government survey
issued last month indicated 70% of doctors and academics want
legal regulations against human cloning.
The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology also has ethical
prohibitions against in vitro fertilization using sperm and eggs
of donors not married to each other.
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Copyright 1998