The day scientists might be able to create a human baby through cloning moved closer this week, when South Korean scientists revealed that they had cloned some 30 human embryos, grown them for a week in a laboratory and extracted stem cells for more research. Although the experiments were not intended to produce a baby, and none of the embryos were implanted in a woman, the techniques described by the Koreans will probably make it easier for some scientist somewhere to clone a human. Clearly it is time for the United States and other nations to ban cloning for human reproduction. For now, the only legitimate use of cloning should be for research and medical therapies.

South Korean scientists have succeeded in creating human embryo clones, a major breakthrough for the promising field of stem cell therapy - and for the far more controversial endeavor of cloning a human.

US fertility expert, Pavos Zavos has failed in his attempt to clone a human. He had announced (recently) that he had managed to implant a cloned human embryo in a woman’s womb.

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Scientists have received the news that a human embryo has been cloned into a woman with a large dose of skepticism and are challenging the maverick fertility expert to prove it.

Human cloning in one form or another has been on the horizon for 25 years, but yesterday’s announcement that a cloned embryo had been implanted in a woman’s womb for the first time still came as a shock to the medical world, politicians and ethicists.

Uproar at press conference as US fertility maverick drops genetic bombshell

A religious sect last year claimed to have produced the world’s first cloned baby.

One sceptic present called it a "circus", and it was certainly a bizarre way of announcing what could be a milestone in medical science - if it proves true.

LONDON (Reuters) - A maverick U.S.-based fertility expert said on Saturday that he had transferred a cloned human embryo into a woman but leading scientists immediately expressed skepticism, saying it was highly unlikely.

The announcement that a 35-year-old woman is hoping to give birth to the world’s first cloned baby turned the spotlight once again on a highly controversial process that has divided scientists, politicians and the public.

The claim by Dr Panos Zavos that he has implanted a cloned embryo into a woman's womb is just the latest in a series of developments in research into human cloning.

Plans by a US-based doctor to launch a search in Britain for a surrogate mother to carry the world's first cloned baby was condemned by Britain's fertility watchdog yesterday.

In 7 years, cats, sheep and other species have been replicated. But some fear that primate reproduction could lead to copying humans.

Scientists from around the world are to call for an international ban on the cloning of humans.

The first cloned baby will be implanted before the end of the year, according to a leading scientist.

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