Producing a human clone would be more like producing a delayed identical twin. And just as identical twins are two separate people so a clone is a separate person from his or her non-contemporaneous twin. Most of us believe people should be allowed to decide with whom to reproduce, when to reproduce and how many children they should have. We do not criticise a woman who takes a fertility drug so that she can influence when she has children or even how many. Abdullah Siddiqi, New Delhi.
Scientists involved in cloning, whether for medical or reproductive purposes, deserve encouragement.
My studies at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, on the cotton plant showed that the cytogene distributed in the cytoplasm of the plant cell interacts with the nuclear gene and determines the quantitative character of the plant. Such research work is probably yet to be done in animals and lack of such information may explain the failure of some experiments in cloning animals. Dr S.D. Peter, Agricultural consultant, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Experts are very clear about the stages, procedures and the process of cloning. But the human being is not just a biological entity alone.