Better Humans: The leader of the team that cloned Dolly the sheep has announced plans to clone human embryos for research.

Thanks to a change in British law allowing the procedure, Professor Ian Wilmut says he plans to clone human embryos for research into genetic disorders.

His laboratory at the Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, is seeking a license from the UK’s Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

If it’s allowed, the lab will take cells from patients with genetic disorders, clone embryos from them and harvest resulting embryonic stem cells. It aims to use these stem cells for research on medicines that could combat genetic disorders.

Wilmut has stressed that the clones won’t be allowed to develop beyond the embryo stage.