URL: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010112/sc/genetics_dc_1.html

Date accessed: 13 January 2001

By Patricia Reaney

LONDON (Reuters) - A genetically modified monkey and a lethal man-made virus, once restricted to the realms of science fiction, have become reality and are raising concerns that science is out of control.

A day after news broke that Australian researchers had accidentally made a killer animal virus with technology that could be used against humans, U.S. scientists announced the creation of ANDi -- the first genetically modified monkey.

His makers say the cute little primate could accelerate cures for human diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.

But tinkering with the genes of humankind's closest relatives and altering viruses to increase their potency has left researchers wondering if some scientists have gone too far.

``Without a doubt all the necessary checks and balances are not in place but I'm not sure that we know exactly what we need to do yet either,'' said Dr. Christopher Exley, a research fellow with an interest in ethics at Britain's Keele University.

``You will always have irresponsible individuals, almost James Bond bad-guy-like people, who are out there and who want to do something different. I guess all we can do, is do our very best to regulate it and make sure everything is as open as possible.''

Designer Babies

Exley said that prior to the announcement he had not been aware that U.S. scientists had been working on the ANDi project.

``Therefore we must assume lots of other things like this are going on,'' he added.

Like other scientists he has expressed doubts about how the transgenic monkey will spur advances in medicine. Some fear ANDi is more likely to lead to genetically modified humans.

``This is yet another step to designer babies,'' said Dr. David King of Britain's Campaign Against Human Genetic Engineering.

France's Le Figaro newspaper voiced similar concerns.

``If it's possible to introduce a...gene into a rhesus monkey, we can imagine the same thing happening to men, with specially selected genes,'' it said.

New Scientist magazine, which broke the news of the killer Australian virus, said the scientists who created it could not have foreseen the potential danger.

They had hoped that the altered mouse virus, similar to the smallpox virus in humans, would act as a contraceptive to control the pests but not to kill them.

Although more stringent vetting of research proposals will never catch everything, the weekly magazine said education and vigilance are the key to safe science.

Nobel Peace Prize winner and veteran anti-nuclear campaigner Joseph Rotblat is perhaps more aware than most researchers of the potential dangers of scientific advances.

The Polish-born nuclear physicist worked on the Manhattan Project that developed the first atomic bomb and has spent 40 years campaigning against nuclear weapons.

``Almost any development of science which has brought benefits to mankind has also created dangers and could be applied either one way or the other,'' he told Reuters.

``Scientists have the responsibility to see to it that what they are doing is not going to be applied for the detriment of mankind.''