Copyright 2001 The Chronicle Publishing Co.  
The San Francisco Chronicle
DECEMBER 2, 2001, SUNDAY, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. D5; THIS WEEK's ISSUE

LENGTH: 521 words

HEADLINE: THIS WEEK's ISSUE;

Cloning Human Cells;

Useful research, or danger?

BODY:
Editor -- I believe the cloning of human cells will yield a new direction in medicine.With advancement in this field the medical community will have powerful new tools to cure, or alleviate, many illnesses and injuries.

Organs could be grown from our own cells, thus making them compatible to ourselves with less chance of rejection.

KEN WICKERSHAM Jr.

Redding

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BOUNDARIES MUST BE SET

Editor -- In response to your "Weigh In" question about human cloning: The issue could go either way.

As mentioned by the lab scientists responsible for the first cloned human embryo, this step can be extremely useful when used for researching human ailments. However, because this information is relatively new in scientific exploration, it would be easy to cross the fine line between good and evil.

Certain boundaries will be necessary to define the restrictions on human cloning. Because cloning is still in developmental stages, it shouldn't be banned just yet.

We need to decide whether human cloning will help or hurt us before we toss out something we know nothing about. It has happened too many times already in history, and these discarded ideas have almost always come back to haunt humanity.

KRISTEN BARTA

Palo Alto

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THE RESEARCH IS COURAGEOUS

Editor -- Enlightened Americans ought to congratulate Advanced Cell Technology of Massachusetts for its human cloning research, and thank the firm for its courage and independence in the pursuit of knowledge.

History is littered with stories of men like Darwin and Galileo who used reason and challenged a faith-driven culture with their scientific endeavors. These men endured constant intellectual battle during their lifetimes, but their struggle brought us the high standard of living that we enjoy today.

Our material wealth and comfort has always followed from the embrace of reason over faith. Advanced Cell Technology's research will show us this again, if it is not shut down by the witch doctors first.

HEATHER STERN

Marina del Rey

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NO CLONING OF OSAMA BIN LADEN

Editor -- It's too bad politicians and the Vatican are not able to make a distinction between reproductive and therapeutic cloning. The latter could lead to tremendous curative benefits.

The dubiously successful cloning of the first human embryo claimed by scientists of Advanced Cell Technology was followed by assurances from a spokesman that their interest was in stem-cell research only and that they had no plans to reproduce a human being.

The over-reaction to the news by politicians and the Vatican would lead one to believe that scientists were prepared to clone 1,000 Osama bin Ladens.

CHASE WEBB

Branscomb

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BRACE FOR NEW INQUISITION

Editor -- Fear mongering by fundamentalist preachers and politicians about human embryo cloning is reminiscent of Pope Urban VII's vilification of Galileo. I expect a new Inquisition to follow, with Attorney General John Ashcroft filling in for Torquemada.

JON STEPHENS

Palo Alto

GRAPHIC: PHOTO (2), (1-2) CLONING: Human eggs at retrieval (left) and embryos 48 hours after activation (right). / Scientif American

LOAD-DATE: December 2, 2001