Media Interest
Wilmut and his team had known from their earlier work that cloning adult cells would happen one day, but when Dolly arrived they couldn't have been prepared for the worlds interest. In 1997 Wilmut spoke to The Scotsman newspaper about the media attention afforded to Dolly,

'We knew there would be a lot of scientific and commercial interest, but we didn't expect the enormous general interest. I think that came because people were frightened by cloning and didn't really understand what it is and the benefits it can provide.'

Uses And Benefits Of The Research

The applications and potential benefits of the technology are varied. The initial function of the research was a form of cell therapy. As outlined with Tracy, the addition of a gene can cause the sheep to produce a special sort of milk, which can be useful in the treatment of humans. Currently many of the hormones, enzymes and proteins used in the treatment of human disease are derived from blood donations. It is not possible to create complex proteins in a laboratory environment. By introducing them into animals, vast quantities could become readily available and whilst breeding this race could occur naturally, the process of cloning animals would be much quicker and more efficient in controlling and meeting the demand. Adding a gene is one thing, but getting it expressed in the milk is another. Wilmut explains,

'There are two parts to the gene,one says that we want this protein, the other are the regulatory elements that say that this gene should function in the mammary gland. By using a standard molecular biological cookery to put them together you know that if you can get them into a cell that they will only work in the place that you are expecting.'

'I don't have any doubt that if we wished to be able to do it, one day we would be able to in any species. We have no real knowledge of whether the human would work or wouldn't, but bearing in mind the work with primates, we can assume that there could be a lot of technological challenges in making it… it is a profoundly challenging thing that we do and my guess is that the problems with cloning in different species is that there is something different about the early environmental development in these species that we need to understand.'

Ethics

Wilmut has always been clear about his ethical beliefs and has publicly voiced his approval of 'therapeutic cloning', whilst strongly opposing anyone attempting to clone a human, claiming that they are 'very naïve'. He allays any fears that cloning would produce identical humans and explains that unlike identical twins, clones are derived from different eggs, developed in different uterus and most likely have different mothers. However, his condemnation of human cloning lies in both the process and the overall practical benefits. 'I don't like the idea of copying a person' he explains, 'because I think that each child should be wanted as an individual.' There are also practical considerations,

'we are one of the labs who are trying to clone a pig, with the aim that one day pigs will provide organs for transplantation into human patients - there is a real biological need there. In the process we have probably worked with over four or five thousand embryos without any success. Just where exactly would you get this many human embryos? It is obscene to even think about doing that to people.'

Control

In addition to the ethical debate, further consideration has been given to the control of cloning and the products produced. As with any new medicine there are stringent legal and testing procedures which the genetic materials must go through before they can enter the market. With the news that the Roslin Institute has recently been taken over by the American corporation Geron, the debate surrounding the patenting of genes and the control of medical technologies has been fuelled. How could commercial intervention effect the work of scientists such as Wilmut?

'There are pros and cons to the situation. Big companies can invest more money and speed processes up, but the disadvantage is that there is probably a greater secrecy involved in the work.'

Is Dolly An Atom Bomb?

Hard lessons have been learnt by past situations involving science and secrecy. Nobel Peace Prize winner Joseph Rotblat said of Dolly's creation that 'it was as important as the building of the atomic bomb.' When some of the nuclear physicists involved in the atom bomb learnt of its devastation they had regrets, does Wilmut ever have concerns about the effects of opening this genetic can of worms?

'You have to put the work in context. It is not as threatening to individuals as the atom bomb. Overall I expect the balance to be massively in favour of the potential uses of the cloning procedure.'

In the meantime we can only hope that there is truth in Wilmut's convictions.