Sydney, Australia -- Secret human cloning experiments have been taking place in Australia for the past two years.
In 1999, researchers implanted a cell containing human DNA in a pig. The cloned embryo lived for 32 days before it was terminated. The procedure is classified as therapeutic, rather than reproductive, cloning and is supported by many in the scientific community.
But it is almost identical to the technique a joint Italian-US team announced at the weekend it would use to clone the first human being within 12 months with the help of an unnamed Australian researcher.
Bio-ethicist Nick Tonti-Filippini, who advised a Senate inquiry into cloning, said yesterday the controversial baby-cloning project was only one step further than what had already been done in Australia.
"It has never been publicly admitted that we have already done human cloning in Australia," Mr Tonti-Filippini said.
"What is true is that human embryos were produced. It was as much a human embryo as Dolly was a sheep. To clone a whole human is only taking it one step further."
The experiments, by Melbourne company Stemcell Sciences, are sure to spark controversy among pro-life groups. They involved taking the nucleus of a human cell which contains the entire human genetic code and placing it in the empty nucleus of a pig egg to form a human embryo.
Stemcell Sciences has applied for a European patent to continue its experiments in cloning of human tissues and organs. The company's chief executive, Peter Mountford, could not be contacted last night.
The Australian Federal Government attempted to deal with the issue in December when it was raised in Senate hearings. It eventually passed amendments to the Gene Regulation Act 2000, making it a jailable offence to put human cells into animal eggs. These amendments provide a maximum penalty of two years' jail for cloning a genetically identical human.
But because current cloning techniques do not result in identical copies some DNA from the host egg is added to the embryo it is technically not illegal to perform such research here.
Scientists confirmed last night that several other Australian research teams had the technology to undertake more human-cloning tests. But it is believed they have been reluctant to carry out such tests because of the ethical and political issues they raise.
"That sort of experiment can only be done in a major research institution, and any work of that nature has to go through a human ethics committee abiding by Federal guidelines that prohibit human cloning," Garvan Institute director Professor John Shine said.