To the Editor:

Re "Bush Makes Fervent Bid to Get Senate to Ban Cloning Research" (news article, April 11):

History has shown that you can never suppress technological advances, and cloning represents the latest example.

Banning cloning will not prevent its application.

President Bush needs to realize that cloning is simply another manifestation stemming from recombinant DNA, a powerful technology that we have been using in the last two decades to genetically alter different organisms, from bacteria to corn to cattle. In fact, it is now routine to add or delete genes and create transgenic organisms.

Transgenesis, cloning and genetic engineering in general are now all an integral part of our evolution as a species.

MICHAEL HADJIARGYROU
Stony Brook, N.Y., April 11, 2002
The writer is an assistant professor of biomedical engineering, genetics and orthopedics, SUNY.