LONDON — It's finally happened. A team from the United States reported this week (24 November 2001) that they have successfully carried out cell nuclear replacement in human cells, raising the issue of human cloning as a 'clear and present' reality rather than merely a future prospect.

"They were such tiny dots, yet they held such immense promise," explained one the research team led by Jose Cibelli, writing lyrically about the event in Scientific American. He reported what they had achieved: "After months of trying, on 13 October 2001, we came into our laboratory at Advanced Cell Technology to see under the microscope what we'd been striving for — little balls of dividing cells not even visible to the naked eye. Insignificant as they appeared, the specks were precious because they were, to our knowledge, the first human embryos produced using the technique of nuclear transplantation, otherwise known as...