Washington, May 13: A US cloning advocate said he has obtained a human embryo through cloning which will be implanted in a woman's uterus in the coming weeks. Panos Zavos, a fertility specialist based in Lexington, Kentucky, said yesterday the cells had been taken from a 45-year-old American woman. He said today that the clone was created in a secret laboratory outside the united states, in a country he would not name. The frozen embryo would be subjected to genetic tests before implantation, he said. "Its frozen right now but it might not be for too long." "We are not that desperate to transfer embryos without knowing the complete story about its genetic stability and its biological status and its ability to give rise to a healthy child," Zavos said. "We're going to make every attempt to scrutinize this embryo and be able to make a medical, scientific decision to say that its embryo is worth transferring."

Zavos said independent scientists were carrying out tests, but did not give their names or other details.

He said the experiments had been filmed by British documentary maker Peter Williams and the first images would be shown on British network channel four this week.

A research company formed by the controversial Raelian sect announced last year that it had cloned a baby. But it has never given scientific proof and the claims have been treated with widespread skepticism by international experts.

Bureau Report