LONDON – The scientist who created Dolly the sheep yesterday applied to clone human embryos to aid the development of an effective treatment for motor neuron disease, the devastating degenerative disorder.

Ian Wilmut, a professor of embryology, applied for a license from the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority to isolate stem cells from cloned human embryos with the disease.

The stem cells, parent cells of all types in the body, would be grown into the nerve cells, the motor neurons, along which the brain sends signals to muscles over distances of slightly more than 3 feet.

The application was lodged yesterday by Mr. Wilmut of the Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, with an expert in motor neuron disease, Christopher Shaw of the Institute of Psychiatry, London.

Motor neuron disease is a “horrific” illness, Mr. Shaw said. “I have seen at least three people in their twenties with the disease in the last year and they died very quickly.”

The application was attacked by opponents of legalized abortion but supporters say the research will create “entirely new opportunities” to combat motor neuron disease, which kills more than 1,000 people each year.

“We owe it to the people who suffer from it and are going to suffer from it in the future to try and develop treatments,” Mr. Wilmut said.

Even though the disease was characterized 130 years ago, the mechanisms that destroy motor neurons are not well understood.

Mr. Shaw said the use of human stem cells could eventually help cut the use of animals in developing treatments.

Mr. Wilmut added that he hoped to have a response from the embryology authority early next year and stressed: “We are not talking about producing a baby.”

If granted, research could start next Easter. It would be only the second time scientists in Britain have been given the go-ahead to clone human embryos for research. It would require another application to obtain permission to clone embryos for stem cell treatments. “This is very much in the future,” Mr. Shaw said.

A spokeswoman for Life, a group opposing legalized abortion, said similar work could be carried out on adult stem cells. “We hope scientists will be able to discover treatments for all kinds of conditions, including motor neuron disease, but not through the deliberate manufacture and destruction of human embryos.”