Non tutti i cloni sono uguali

Michael Gazzaniga commenta l’invito del Presidente Bush a mettere al bando ogni forma di clonazione («All Clones Are Not the Same», The New York Times, 16 febbraio):

the political games around stem cell research are sending scientists on wild goose chases, pursuing costly and strange alternative ideas, some of which may work in the distant future but many which probably will not.
This search for alternatives is costly not just in dollar terms but also in time not being spent on the best research possibilities. And it represents a perversion of the scientific process: instead of science proceeding in the best way it knows, it is being used in the service of political goals. Not only will the present generation not get medical relief from stem cell research, it is beginning to look as if our children’s generation will not either.
In the scientific community there have obviously been strains. When the sad and pathetic story of the fraud in South Korea came to light, I couldn’t help but wonder if the entire process — from the overly ambitious laboratory scientist to the overly eager editors of scientific journals — was compromised by a conscious or unconscious sense that something must keep stem cell research alive in the face of the American administration’s unwavering opposition.