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Feb. 28, 1997
 test sheep named Dolly has become one
of the most famous figures on the planet.
Dolly, of course, is not just any sheep, she's a copy of a
pre-existing sheep -- a clone. She will almost certainly become one of
the most illustrious animals in history, perhaps ranking in the same
pantheon as the serpent that tempted Eve.
Like the snake, Dolly is important not so much for what she is, but for
what she represents: in this case, humankind's ability to manipulate
nature to an unnatural degree, to defy
nature, to circumvent it. Looking
forward to the now-probable day (within the next 10 years, according to
Nature) when
scientists will be able to replicate human beings, ethicists
used Dolly to get an early start on
debating the morality -- or immorality -- of human cloning.
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