The scientists who cloned Dolly the sheep have formally applied for a licence to clone human embryos to find a cure for motor neurone disease. If granted, Professor Ian Wilmut’s team at Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute would clone cells from MND patients to see how the illness develops in an embryo. The licensing body, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority granted a similar licence in August. The application has provoked criticism from pro-life campaigners. Therapeutic cloning for research has been legal in the UK since 2001.
