1.I didn't clone Dolly the sheep, says prof
2.Dolly expert in row over science prize
3.Creator of Dolly "poached ideas"

Here's a quote from an article published today:

"Last month, another Roslin scientist, Professor Ian Wilmut, who created Dolly the Sheep, was granted a licence to clone human embryos to help further stem cell research. It is thought this could lead to cures for diabetes, quadriplegia and blindness, as well as Parkinson's and other conditions." (Cure for Parkinson's disease in three years)
http://paktribune.com/news/index.php?id=137359

Even the most sceptical might be surprised by the degreee of misleading hype that quote contains.

The items below raise again the question - what is it about biotech scientists?

EXCERPTS: Wilmut... has admitted he neither developed the technology nor conducted the vital experiments, despite appearing as lead author on the paper about Dolly.

Prim Singh, a leading molecular biologist, claims Wilmut tried to steal his ideas and continually bullied him while working at the Roslin Institute... (item 2)

Dr Singh, who now works in Germany, is claiming race discrimination and unfair dismissal against the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Prof Wilmut, Prof Julia Goodfellow and the Roslin Institute. (item 3)
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1.I didn't clone Dolly the sheep, says prof
By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent
Daily Telegraph, 08/03/2006

The man whose name is synonymous with the cloning of Dolly the sheep admitted yesterday that he was not responsible for the scientific breakthrough that made headline news around the world.

Prof Ian Wilmut told a tribunal hearing in Edinburgh that he had a supervisory, although "not trivial", role in the project. However, he did not develop the technology or carry out the experiments that led to the first clone of an adult animal from a single cell.

He added that he only appeared as the lead author on the paper that described the historic event because of a prior agreement with his colleague, Dr Keith Campbell.

Prof Wilmut, formerly of the Roslin Institute outside Edinburgh, was giving evidence at an employment tribunal at which an Asian colleague is accusing him of racial harassment and bullying.

Dr Prim Singh, 45, a molecular biologist, claims that Prof Wilmut tried to steal his ideas - on work not related to Dolly - and bullied him because of his ethnic origin.

The idea of freezing cells for use in cloning had been devised by Dr Campbell and the vital experiments had been carried out by a fellow scientist, Bill Ritchie.

When asked by Dr Singh's lawyer, Lawrence Davies, whether the statement "I did not create Dolly" was accurate, Prof Wilmut replied: "Yes."

for the full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/08/ndolly08.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/08/ixhome.html

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2.Dolly expert in row over science prize
MURDO MACLEOD This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Scotsman, 15 March 2006

DOLLY the Sheep scientist Professor Ian Wilmut could be stripped of a prestigious international award worth GBP70,000 as a result of the ongoing row over who really deserves credit for the work.

The Frankfurt-based foundation that last year awarded Wilmut Germany's top science prize is set to consider whether he should retain the honour after the professor admitted he was not solely responsible for the world's first cloned sheep.

Wilmut, testifying at an employment tribunal in Edinburgh, has admitted he neither developed the technology nor conducted the vital experiments, despite appearing as lead author on the paper about Dolly.

The scientist has been giving evidence at the tribunal, in which he is accused of the racial harassment and bullying of an Asian colleague.

Wilmut was awarded the GBP70,000 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for medical research for the pioneering cloning work.

A spokeswoman for the Frankfurt-based Paul Ehrlich Foundation said she expected the subject to be raised at a meeting of the foundation's oversight committee tomorrow, and that the possibility of Wilmut being stripped of the award could not be ruled out.

The award provoked controversy at the time because the research would have been illegal in Germany, with some critics even accusing their government of illegally funding cloning research by the back door.

Prim Singh, a leading molecular biologist, claims Wilmut tried to steal his ideas and continually bullied him while working at the Roslin Institute, in Midlothian.

Under questioning, Wilmut said that his colleague, Professor Keith Campbell, deserved "66%" of the credit for the work and that he had only taken a supervisory role.

full story: http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=371292006

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3.Creator of Dolly "poached ideas"
By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent
Daily Telegraph, 29/11/2005

The man who cloned Dolly the sheep was accused yesterday of hijacking the ideas of other scientists and taking credit for them himself.

A former colleague also claimed that Prof Ian Wilmut did not come up with the idea of creating the first animal cloned from an adult cell.

Prim Singh, 45, a molecular biologist, made the claims at an employment tribunal ...

He said Prof Wilmut, with whom he worked in a cloning research department, bullied him and "poached" ideas from other staff at the centre. Dr Singh added: ''He didn't have the idea of Dolly the sheep and didn't do the experiment himself. He's quite happy to take all the credit for it."

Dr Singh, who now works in Germany, is claiming race discrimination and unfair dismissal against the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Prof Wilmut, Prof Julia Goodfellow and the Roslin Institute.