LIFE VS. BUILDING MATERIALS

With the Senate Judiciary Committee conducting a job interview in which this general subject is getting more than a bit of attention, and with a soon-to-be-13-year-old watching Sexo en Nuevo York (that's what Sex in the City is called on TV in Spain), an article in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer by Faye Flam caught my eye. And since this is a "Family Blog," it seemed appropriate to take a break from "Deeners," Parties and the Cup to post a more serious think piece, required reading for Meg, that begins....

The list of animals born without the usual sperm-meets-egg scenario continues to grow. Most recently, in South Korea, a puppy named Snuppy was born from an egg and a cell from another dog's ear.

Even if scientists never go through a similar process to clone a human baby, Snuppy and other cloned animals suggest, in principle, that it could be done. That implies billions of cells in your body carry the potential to grow into a new human being - a quality once thought unique to a fertilized egg. New science is forcing an overhaul of the old facts of life.

If you are up for it, the complete article is here.