Patently Absurd

By Melissa August, Amanda Bower, Rhett Butler, Daren Fonda, Sora Song, Heather Won Tesoriero, Victoria Rainert, Joel Stein

All the talk about cloning has not escaped the notice of opportunistic entrepreneurs. One company is offering celebrities a chance to copyright their genes, so no one will be able to clone them while they're not looking. "Michael Jordan's sweaty towel and Madonna's sunglasses contain traces of their DNA," says Andre Crump of the DNA Copyright Institute, based in San Francisco. "It could be used to create an unauthorized clone." For $1,500, Crump will provide celebs with a (c) on their genes. Of course, a symbol isn't necessary to prove that anyone's DNA is unique. Maybe that's why no celebs have signed on yet.

--Reported by Daren Fonda

With reporting by Daren Fonda