FRENCH CLONE COW, HIGH COURT ISSUES WARNING

March 7, 1998

PARIS (Yomiuri) -- French scientists announced the birth of a cloned calf Thursday.

A video of "Marguerite," a 15-day-old female calf, was shown by scientists from the French National Institute of Agronomic Research at an annual agricultural fair.

The 48-kilogram calf was the first animal to be cloned in France.

Scientists said Marguerite was the result of an embryo reconstituted from a muscle cell that had been cultivated for three weeks. The muscle cell was taken from a 60-day-old fetus obtained from a slaughterhouse. The calf was said to be healthy.

The French researchers used almost the same cloning technique as the one pioneered by Britain's Roslin Institute last year to create Dolly.

However, French researchers were the first to use a somatic cell, which is not related to reproductive functions, to clone the calf.

The somatic cell was introduced into an unfertilized cow ovary.

Marguerite was born at the national institute's experimental farm in Jouy-en- Josas, near Paris.

Jean-Paul Renard, who coordinated the French research effort, said the birth of Marguerite demonstrated that asexual somatic cells could be used to produce a healthy clone.

The public announcement of the birth was intended to show that France did not lag behind in the global race to master cloning technologies.

The scientists said cloning had the potential to mass-produce healthier and more efficient farm animals.

However, France's highest administrative court on Thursday issued a strong warning against cloning technologies.

Human cloning that "negates the singularity of each person is a significantly worrying prospect and must lead to a particular vigilance," the Conseil d'Etat said.

The court pleaded for a total ban on human cloning.

The French parliament is set to revise bioethical laws next year.