Just two days ago, Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, Mass., announced that it had cloned human embryos by transplanting the nucleus of an adult cell into a human egg with its nucleus already removed. Hardly revolutionary (as New York Times medslut Gina Kolata observes), this latest experiment demonstrates how simple the process of human cloning is likely to be, even for a small company like Advanced Cell Technology.

Successful human cloning--and consequently, transgenic humans--is simply a matter of time. And the technology will be here sooner rather than later--perhaps a lot sooner than anyone expects.

While allowing the development of promising new therapies, the advent of human cloning also has deeply troubling moral implications.