Maverick scientists specialising in cloning techniques, or so-called “cowboy cloners”, should be outlawed in every country, according to the President of the Royal Society.

In an article published in ‘Global Agenda’, the official magazine of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting which started in Davos, Switzerland, today, Royal Society President Lord May criticised “mavericks" who indulged in "medically unsafe, scientifically unsound and socially unacceptable” science – the reproductive cloning of humans.

Lord May's call follows on from the decision by world’s scientific academies, including the Royal Society and the United States National Academy of Sciences, decision to sign a joint statement calling for human reproductive cloning to be made illegal across the world.

In his article, Lord May argued that there was a clear distinction between human reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning – which could see "radical new stem cell treatments" to repair the damage caused by diseases and injuries.

He warned that the advocates of the reproductive cloning of people "seem more motivated by the publicity of carrying out such experiments, in the face of overwhelming scientific and medical opinion, than by a genuine regard for the plight of the human guinea pigs that would take part”.

He wrote that recent experiments had shown that the cloning of primates was technically much more difficult than with other mammals, which called into question "whether it is even feasible in humans”.

However, he said that any move to temper the follies of "cowboy cloners" should not come at the cost of restricting the potential development of biotechnology.

"All too often, the ‘slippery slope’ argument is invoked to oppose technological innovation for fear that society is incapable of guiding its development. But if we are not to forsake the promises of a better world offered by the biotechnology revolution, society must regain its confidence in measures to prevent its misuse,” he said.

(gmcg)