In the beginning was the cell and the cells multiplied by cloning Creating identical copies (watch creation movie image 1); For billions of years this was the way life reproduced; Clones ruled the world; Mindless and immortal; Then, under water, sex evolved. Sperm met egg. The mingling of genes sparked an explosion of life. Millions of new species. And this potent mix of sex and chance ultimately led to us. It's taken millions of years for blind chance to turn us from primitive humans into modern man. But now we are taking charge. Biologists are learning how to clone, and they are mixing genes to create new species. But above all, they are becoming masters of the molecules they study. We are at a turning point in history, and the potential impact of this work excites leaders in the field like Princeton's Lee Silver (watch creation movie image 2). Now, as we enter the 21st Century, it is perfectly clear that we are going to understand what it means to be human at the smallest level. We're going to be able to pick apart human cells and not only are we going to be able to understand it, we're going to be able to manipulate human beings, we're going to be able to change our genes, change our cells, change human beings in every kind of way that you can imagine. For years Jose Cibelli and his company have been cloning animals. In 1998 they cloned the first cow. They also cloned a rare ox called a Gower (watch creation movie image 4). Sara Waddington got pregnant the conventional way. But even so, nature had a surprise for her. Sara is having identical triplets (watch creation movie image 3). Nature's clones. I picked Carl up from work and he said, did you do anything interesting at work today. And I said, no, not really. I found out I was pregnant, but that's about it. And he just went, you are joking? I said, no. Sara got pregnant at almost the first attempt. Millions of Carl's sperm traveled to Sara's waiting egg. Just one burrowed in. At that moment, a unique embryo was created. But then something very strange happened. For reasons no one understands, Sara's embryo cloned itself. It split into two, then into three to form identical triplets. We'd always wanted a family. Sara wants a bigger family than I do. I'm sort of in the middle. But you know, we wanted a few kids running about. It's going to be quite good. We just didn't expect them all to come at once. Six months into her pregnancy Sara has a scan. It's a chance to see how the triplets are developing. For the first time they're able to see a three-dimensional image of the triplets. Now the face is coming through. I can see that now. The little nose, the lips, and you see the eye there. There's a little bit of cord just over this eye here. Professor Campbell has confirmed that Sara and Carl's triplets are boys. Sara will give birth to identical triplets within two months. Nature is practiced at making human clones, so the odds are high of a successful outcome. Regrowing Judson's spinal cord, even partially, could transform his life. The spinal cord's very complicated. However, if I could even get a little more function it would make it easier for me. I try to keep a stiff upper-lip as they say, but there are a lot of things that are very frustrating. Getting around, getting in and out of my car, getting in and out of bed, getting in the shower, getting onto the toilet, you know. Once I get to bed it's just like I made it, I made it one more day. This vision of the future depends on creating cloned human embryos, something no one has ever done before. Jose Cibelli, however, is going to try. The BBC have been given exclusive access to follow the whole procedure. So what I'm going to do today, I'm going to take one of these cells, just one, and inject it into an egg (watch creation movie image 5). Judson's skill cell, like almost every other cell in his body, contains all the genetic information needed to build another Judson. No skin cell is visible to the naked eye. But enlarged 60,000 times the breathtaking interior world of the cell bursts into view. At the heart of the cell lies the nucleus. Protected inside the nucleus are chromosomes. Chromosomes are nothing more than tightly bound packages of DNA. When they're unraveled, the characteristic double-strands of DNA are revealed. Each strand of DNA carried hundreds of genes. And it's these genes that build everything, from the shape of your nose to the color of your skin. Jose Cibelli will insert the nucleus containing Judson's DNA into a human egg. Doing this should turn the adult skin cell back into its early embryonic form. But how it does this is a mystery. We know the magic is in the egg. Now, how it works, we don't know, and we keep saying that the person that can find that out should be given the Nobel Prize. First, Jose Cibelli has to remove the glowing nucleus out of the tiny egg. This nucleus contains the genetic material of the woman who donated this egg. It cannot be mixed with Judson's DNA or a hybrid would result. Now, Jose Cibelli is ready to collect one of Judson's skin cells. I'm trying to load the cell inside the pipette. Okay, the cell is inside the pipette. I'm going to go and I'm going to go and grab an egg and inject the cell in. Finally, Jose Cibelli is ready to begin. So I'm ready to inject one of these cells into the egg for the first time. So anything could happen. Jose Cibelli is about to cross an entirely new frontier. So I just went through the zone, and now I'm gonna go try to pierce the membrane, I'll be very gentle. Stroke should be enough, I guess.
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