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The list of "aberrations in cloned animals" described by Jaap de Roode and Clare Mills ("Proceed with extreme care", THES, May 3) would lead a reader to believe that most animals born through cloning are unhealthy or abnormal. This is incorrect. The success rate in mice is dismal, but it varies by species. Most cloned animals born to date are healthy, according to a comprehensive report on cloning by the National Academy of Sciences in the US.

Our company's scientists have been responsible for the birth of four clones - two bulls, a goat and a cat. All four animals are healthy.

Health outcomes for cloned animals have not yet reached the level of success of other forms of assisted reproduction, but research continues and the progress is promising.

Ben Carlson

Genetic Savings and Clone Sausalito, California, US