The following is an excerpt.
Harvard Medical School genetics professor George Church found himself at the middle of a viral Internet kerfuffle this weekend. Blogs and news websites picked up on an interview in the German publication, Der Spiegel, and distorted his speculative comments about the technological feasibility of cloning a Neanderthal to suggest the scientist was looking for volunteers: “Wanted: ‘Adventurous woman’ to give birth to Neanderthal man—Harvard professor seeks mother for cloned cave baby ,” the Daily Mail newspaper in the United Kingdom announced.
More than 100 people have e-mailed him, volunteering for the job of being surrogate to the first cloned Neanderthal. Unfortunately, as they could have found out by reading his interview, that job isn’t open—in his lab, or anyone else’s.
View the original article here: Viral ‘cave baby’ rumor spurs Harvard geneticist to call for greater scientific literacy
