Cloning

FIVE YEARS ago this week, a pair of scientists at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin announced a discovery they thought might ignite a national research effort like the one that put a man on the moon. The colonies of embryonic stem cells they produced held such breathtaking potential to cure a virtually limitless array of human ailments - from Parkinson's to spinal injuries - that Dr. John Gearhart, the Hopkins biologist, envisioned a race to find those cures as quickly as possible.

People have wristbands to declare their affiliation and support of different groups or causes -- think "Livestrong", the yellow wristband campaign by cyclist Lance Armstrong that raises cancer awareness. But if you wear a new wristband designed by Baltimore's MissionTix, what affiliation are you declaring? I'll tell you: Your right to par-tay in da' club. The new wristband is a wearable and re-usable "ticket" for concerts that you want to attend. Users can just buy new tickets and their wristband gets "re-charged.

SEOUL, South Korea -- Prosecutors indicted disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk today on fraud and bioethics law violations linked to faked stem cell research, officials said. Five members of Hwang's research team were indicted on the same charges, prosecution official Lee In-kyu said in a nationally televised news conference. He said none of the six would be detained, but did not elaborate. Hwang was hailed worldwide as a stem cell pioneer and treated as a national hero until investigations late last year showed that he had fabricated key data in two papers he published in the journal Science in 2004 and 2005.

"Grass is for Cows" is the motto of this producer, and it delivers a sauvignon blanc that is notable for its lack of grassy, herbal notes. Neither is it overly fig-flavored — the extreme some producers veer toward. It's a subtle, smoky, mineral-infused wine that reminds me very much of a good Graves from Bordeaux. It seems to be structured for longer aging than most California whites, and could develop very nicely with a year or two aging — something I rarely say about a sauvignon blanc.

"The Experiment," by John Darnton. Dutton. 416 pages. $24.95.My suggestion is simple: forget what you think you know and dive into John Darnton's newest book, "The Experiment." It's a barnburner.Darnton concocts a fast-paced story, set in the present, that pulls its facts from the intricate work of geneticists. At its core, it is about the pursuit of a fountain of youth. This magic potion is not some liquid elixir but rather the miraculous magic of cloning.For the past three decades, influential Americans have been cloning their exact likenesses on Crab Island off the Georgia coast.

WASHINGTON - This month is the 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision, which, along with subsequent rulings, allows abortion on demand at any time and for any reason. Having already decided, with the support of academics, clergy and journalists, that certain categories and stages of life are not entitled to the protection of law, why are so many appalled, outraged and surprised when cloning arrives at the door? Cloning is the unnatural fruit - there will be many more - produced when the root of the tree of life has been pulled out of its nurturing soil and replanted into a soil of situational ethics that serve the temporal interests and feelings of humanity.

OAKLAND, Calif. - The U.S. Senate is set to vote on human cloning within the next few weeks. Unfortunately, a polarized political climate and lack of political leadership could block urgently needed legislation. The great majority of people intuitively understand that the creation of cloned children would be an affront to human dignity and autonomy, would open the door to even more dangerous forms of eugenic manipulation, would serve no good purpose and needs to be banned. But the same techniques that could be used to create cloned children can also be used to create human embryos for medical research.

OFFERED THE chance last week to enact an outright ban on human cloning, the U.S. Senate wisely declined. Instead, it left the door open for potentially lifesaving research, while allowing debate to continue on a complicated issue.The appearance last year of a lamb named Dolly sparked new interest in an old question, this time with the prospect that scenarios regarded largely as science fiction could become reality.Even for a public long accustomed to "test-tube babies" and other miracles of reproductive technology, the success of Scottish scientists in producing a genetic replica of an adult sheep was amazing, and served to renew both fantasies and fears:Could I clone myself and outsmart mortality?

"HELLO DOLLY!'' trumpeted USA Today to welcome the era of sheep cloning. The fetching ewe staring at us in a front-page color photo looks perfectly normal and not terribly exercised about her historic significance. That she is the child of no one will probably not haunt her nights and days.But we -- we humans -- should be haunted, by Dolly and all the Dollies to come and by the prospect that others will appear on this earth as the progeny of our omnipotent striving, our yearning to create without pausing to reflect on what we are simultaneously destroying.

BOSTON - I don't think I'll be inviting Harry and Louise to dinner with Harriet and Louis anytime soon. Somehow I don't think they'd make it through the salad course without hurling lettuce at each other. These two couples are airing opposing views about human cloning and human cures in ads on radio and TV. They have been sent out to influence the Senate vote that's due later this month. For those of you have been following this debate about cutting-edge science and retro politics, here's a secret: The senators actually do all agree on one thing.

Eli Lilly agreed yesterday to pay $6.5 billion to acquire ImClone Systems, the biotechnology company that is controlled by Carl C. Icahn and whose stock was involved in the insider trading scandal that sent Martha Stewart to jail. The deal by Lilly, worth $70 a share, beat an offer of $62 a share from Bristol-Myers Squibb, which markets ImClone's cancer drug Erbitux in the United States along with ImClone. But there is a consolation prize for Bristol-Myers. The $70-a-share offer means Bristol-Myers will get about $1 billion in cash for its nearly 17 percent stake in ImClone.

HOLLYWOOD - George Lucas, looking overheated under the midday sun, gamely worked the red carpet recently at the world premiere of the latest cinematic installment to his space saga, Star Wars: The Clone Wars. At one point, Lucas was photographed with one of his most avid fans, a grinning, chubby fellow from Pennsylvania who showed up at Hollywood's Egyptian Theatre wearing two-day stubble, a sweat-stained shirt and a brimmed frontier hat that Indiana Jones would admire. That guy, Dave Filoni, also happens to be the director of Clone Wars (which opened this weekend across the U.S.)

Bernann McKinney couldn't wait to see her dog again. Understanding why is easy: Booger was a pit bull she rescued from the street. Two months later, when McKinney was attacked by another dog, Booger rescued her, charging out of the house, jumping on the larger dog and diverting his attention long enough so that McKinney, who all but lost one arm in the attack and had the other damaged, could escape, steering her pickup truck with her elbows to the home...

Despite the sea of red flags that accompanied the public debut of Miami-based Mac clone maker Psystar Corp., the company appears to be for real. Customers have reported delivery of working Psystar clones, and several tech sites have posted first impressions. That brings us back to the question people were asking when Psystar's sudden appearance last month first sent the Mac blog- osphere into a frenzy: Does buying from Psystar make sense? At first it might seem so. What's not to love about a $399 computer that runs Mac OS X?

Though the blogging frenzy over whether would-be Mac clone maker Psystar is real has died down in the past few days, no one has determined the truth beyond the shadow of a doubt. After a series of crazy developments last week, including an address that changed several times within a few days and a credit card payment company that abruptly terminated its relationship with Psystar, many in the Mac blogosphere declared the upstart company a hoax. But over the weekend and into Monday, defenders of Psystar attributed its troubles to poor planning.

I cringed when I read recently that the Food and Drug Administration had declared that food from cloned animals is safe to eat. Could this mean I would have to struggle with yet another decision about what to put on my dinner table? Already I wrestle with whether my seafood is sustainable, my coffee is shade-grown and my beer is organic. But the more I looked into this matter, the more I realized that I was not going to have to take any quick stance about whether to serve cloned burgers for supper.

LET'S SEE if I understand this latest bulletin from the brave new world of pet-cloning. Say I have a cat. (OK, that'll never happen -- I'm a dog person -- but let's pretend.) And say this cat's name is, oh, Muffy. Muffy and I have a long life together. We bond, become kindred spirits, etc. Muffy is everything to me. Then one day, I notice Muffy doesn't look so good. In fact, she looks like she's about to check out any minute. So I scrape a few of her cells and throw 'em in the freezer next to the cans of Minute Maid orange juice and the Eggo waffles.

BOSTON - Never again will I underestimate the commitment of the U.S. House of Representatives to homeland security. While the whole country is on an emotional toggle switch, alternating between orange and yellow alert, the representatives nevertheless have taken time out to protect our fair country from another breed of international criminals: patients. Last week, the House passed a ban against all forms of human cloning. Not just against reproductive cloning of embryos to make babies, but also against therapeutic cloning for research to cure diseases.

WASHINGTON -- Meat and milk from cloned farm animals are safe to eat, the government said yesterday in a move that paves the way for the sale of the food. But limits on production are expected to keep the products from reaching grocer's shelves for years, and continuing consumer skepticism prompted the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ask yesterday for an indefinite delay so it can educate shoppers before they face the choice. After reviewing numerous scientific studies, the Food and Drug and Administration decided that food derived from cloned cows, pigs, goats and their offspring is as safe to eat as products from conventionally bred livestock.

Washington -- Carol L. Keefer has played a significant behind-the-scenes role in the government's deliberations on whether to permit sales of meat and milk derived from clones. An associate professor at the University of Maryland, Keefer was one of three animal scientists who reviewed the Food and Drug Administration's research into the safety of such food last year. The agency's tentative endorsement of the food's safety has been the subject of much hand-wringing among consumers, within the food industry and in Washington.