Cloning by somatic cell nuclear transfer

The birth of the first cloned mammals, produced by the introduction of somatic cell nuclei into enucleated oocytes, was an impressive and surprising development.(1) Although the ethical debate has been intense, the important scientific questions raised by this work have been inadequately discussed and are still unresolved. In this essay we address three questions about nuclear transplantation in the eggs of mice and domestic animals. First, why were the recent experiments on somatic cell cloning successful, when so many others have failed? Second, were these exceptional cases, or is somatic cloning now open to all? Third, what are the future possibilities for increasing the efficiency and wider applicability of the cloning process? BioEssays 20:847–851, 1998. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.