EDITORIAL : CREATING A QUANDARY NEWS THAT SCOTTISH RESEARCHERS SUCCESSFULLY CLONED A LAMB IS RAISING SERIOUS ETHICAL QUESTIONS.

Until last week, cloning an animal by recreating a genetically identical duplicate was reserved for science fiction novels and B-grade movies. And then came Dolly, a lamb that researchers in Scotland produced from a single cell of a 6-year-old ewe.

That news, while remarkable, promises to create one of the most troubling ethical dilemmas in history because it opens the door to the possibility of cloning humans. Lest we appear too apoplectic, consider that President Clinton on Monday called the news ``startling'' and asked a bioethics advisory commission to review the implications for human beings.

In fact, the National Advisory Board on Ethics in Reproduction, which is supported by federal and private funds, already studied human cloning and concluded that it had no merit for human society, said Neal First, professor of animal biotechnology and reproductive biology at the University of Wisconsin and a member of the board.

The board found no good reasons to clone humans. A duplicate body does not mean a duplicate person. The clone's brain would be far different from that of the donor, as it must start from scratch and build its own world of experiences.

And even though the federal government prohibits government dollars from being spent on human cloning research, there are no laws in the United States banning private research, as there are in some European countries.

Theoretically, then, if a wealthy person wanted to clone himself, it could be done: Damn the ethicists, full speed ahead.

And therein lies the problem. For the most part, society has allowed scientists to operate unfettered with no concern about the downside. After all, science has held out the promise of hope by easing pain, finding cures for disease and making life more livable. Whoever thought that they would someday clone life or unlock the secrets of the universe. Now, if scientists could only unleash wisdom, life would be grand.

But wisdom and science have not always gone hand in hand. (Witness the assisted-suicide issue now before the U.S. Supreme Court.) We are therefore pleased that Clinton is taking the cloning news seriously by seeking additional counsel on its implications and whether there are policy ramifications for the federal government to address.