New Delhi, Mar 23: With debates raging across the globe over the issue of human cloning, an expert said it was "immoral" to practice it until one has complete knowledge of the subject. "Until we have knowledge to develop a human clone which is 100 per cent safe I think it is immoral to practice human cloning," Alan Colman, who cloned the sheep 'Dolly', said at a session on "should man play god? - the issue of ethics' here yesterday.
Colman, who also cloned cows and pigs, said the cloning of pigs was comparatively successful. Supporting experiments on animals, he said, "It would help scientists understand the consequences of addition, removal and modification of genes."
"It is very easy to criticise a new technology. People criticised and viewed with scepticism when the technologies such as autopsy, anaesthesia and organ transplant - were in the evolving stage," he said adding, "This is a new branch of science and the faculty of experimentation which is in its initial phase should be given a chance."
On Dolly's death, he said, "She was put to death after it was found that she was suffering from a viral disease.” Colman, however, said that it did not prove that Dolly was susceptible to the disease. Moreover, she did not pass the disease to her offsprings.
Speaking on the occasion, Jagadguru Shankaracharya said that scientists were trying to find the truth behind life and they should be allowed to do so.
Citing examples from Hindu epics, he said, "They practiced this very science in ancient times and scientist were trying to reach that level.”

Bureau Report