Ever since his death in 1977, the idea that Elvis Presley might still be with us has become a favourite with conspiracy theorists.But it seems that the Elvis superfans might get the last laugh, thanks to a Canadian dentist who believes he can clone the King using DNA sequenced from a tooth.And Dr Michael Zuk doesn't plan to stop at Presley. Dr Zuk also owns a tooth that once belonged to Beatles singer John Lennon and claims that a Lennon clone could be walking the planet as early as 2040.Speaking to cosmetic dentistry comparison site, Teethwise, Dr Zuk revealed the same process used to clone Dolly the Sheep in 1996 could also be used to bring Lennon and Presley back to life.'Legally, it is not a problem,' he added. 'If something is illegal in one country its a matter of crossing a border.'Animal cloning still has some glitches they are working out but they are already cloning species. Once the glitches are worked out humans will follow.'There are people in history that everyone is fixated over…JFK, Martin Luther King, Marilyn…it will be possible…and because of this, like the nuclear bomb, it will be happen.'Dr Zuk's mission began two years ago when he bought one of John Lennon's teeth for £19,500 at auction.The tooth had been given to Lennon's housekeeper, Dot Jarlett in the 1960s, before being passed onto her son who later auctioned the memento.'I saw online that it was for sale and bought it,' explains Dr Zuk. 'I think collecting celebrity DNA will be insane in the future as it creates a risk for celebs to have surprise offspring.'He now expects to have a cloned Lennon on his hands by 2040, the year that would have marked his 100th birthday, but, surprisingly, thinks that Lennon 2.0 might not enjoy quite the same level of musical success as the original.'"John" would be cloned from his DNA which creates the body and hardware for the brain,' reveals the dentist.'What goes on in his brain would be largely be down to his environment. John’s personality and cultural tastes were formed from his upbringing in 40s and 50s Liverpool so this would obviously be different. Even during his lifetime his musical style changed.'He added: 'The musical ability in his DNA is undoubted so we would aim to create an environment for the child where this ability would be nurtured and allowed to develop.'Despite being sanguine about the ethical minefield that would need to be navigated before bringing the pair of singing superstars back to life, Dr Zuk does admit to qualms about how the cloned Presley and Lennon would cope with the media attention that would inevitably ensue.'it could be a little unfair,' he says, before adding: 'Whilst some elements of the cloning process would be publicised, it is likely the identity of the child would not initially be disclosed publicly.'Until, of course, a spectacular talent for music and a taste for the limelight began to appear...(dailymail.co.uk)
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