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CJ Cregg
Commodore
Joined: 05 Oct 2002
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 Fri May 20, 2005 7:58 am UK scientists clone human embryo |
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| Quote: | UK scientists clone human embryo
British scientists say they have cloned the country's first human embryo.
The Newcastle University team took eggs from 11 women, removed the genetic material and replaced it with DNA from embryonic stem cells.
The aim of this kind of work - the subject of fierce debate - is to make cloned embryos from which stem cells can be used to treat diseases.
Meanwhile South Korean scientists say they have created stem cells to match individuals for the first time.
Stem cell lines were created by taking genetic material from the patient and putting it into a donated egg.
The resultant cells were a perfect match for the individual and could mean treatments for diseases like diabetes without problems of rejection.
Therapeutic cloning - believed to have huge potential to treat disease and disability - is allowed in Britain.
Reproductive cloning - the cloning of human embryos with the intention of creating a baby - was made illegal in 2001.
The UN recently voted in favour of a ban on all human cloning, but this was non-binding which means the UK can continue to do therapeutic cloning.
The use of embryonic stem cells is controversial, with opponents arguing that all embryos, whether created in the lab or not, have the potential to go on to become a fully fledged human. Others fear there are safety concerns.
Supporters of cloning say it could offer numerous benefits in the future, such as fighting disease, battling infertility or preserving endangered species.
'Unsafe and inefficient'
Criticising the Newcastle research, Julia Millington from the ProLife Alliance said cloning for research purposes was profoundly unethical.
Josephine Quintavalle from CORE said: "No matter how it is created, a human embryo's destiny should be to live and not to be turned into human stem cells."
Life said cloning was "unsafe and inefficient", and involved exposing women to dangerous fertility drugs in order to collect sufficient eggs.
In the Newcastle research, three of the resultant clones lived and grew in the laboratory for three days and one survived for five days.
The critical factor for success appeared to be how quickly the egg was collected and manipulated, Professor Alison Murdoch and colleagues found.
The clone that lasted for five days had been collected and manipulated within 15 minutes.
Other tissues
Stem cells have the ability to develop into virtually any tissue in the body and could, in theory, be used to replace damaged cells in conditions such as Parkinson's disease and diabetes.
But Professor Murdoch said this was still a long way off.
"We are talking about several years before we are talking about a cell-based therapy that can go back into the patient," she said.
Colleague Dr Miodrag Stojkovic said: "I'm really happy but I know that this is just the beginning of a long journey so we have to continue to try to derive stem cells that will definitely help us one day to cure diseases."
The UK research is published in Reproductive and BioMedicine Online.
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CJ Cregg
Commodore
Joined: 05 Oct 2002
Posts: 1254
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| Fri May 20, 2005 7:59 am |
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This is great News! I'm glad the UK is one of the leading nations in stem cell reseach 
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Fri May 20, 2005 8:07 am |
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In related news . . .
| Chinadaily.com wrote: | South Korea makes strides in human cloning
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-05-20 18:44
SEOUL - South Korean scientists blazed a trail in stem cell research that matches the country's global leadership in high tech sectors and promises to bring life-saving benefits to sufferers of incurable diseases.
A team of experts led by Seoul National University professor Woo Suk Hwang said they produced stem cells by cloning human embryos using human eggs donated from volunteers and skin cells from patients.
The research marked a step forward in efforts to fight difficult diseases by cloning "therapeutic" stem cells and transplanting them into humans to replace cells ravaged by illnesses such as Parkinson's and diabetes.
In the study published by the journal Science, the group said there would be little risk of rejection by patients' immune systems because any potential therapy using this process would use cloned cells that share their own DNA makeup.
"This process opens the possibility of rejection-free stem cell treatment of many incurable or difficult diseases and injuries," Hwang told journalists.
Co-author on the study, Dr. Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, called the development "a major advance in the science of using stem cells to repair damage caused by human disease and injury."
"What the study shows is that stem cells can be made that are specific to patients regardless of age or sex and that these cells are identical genetic matches to the donor," Schatten said.
In the new Korean research, 11 new lines of embryonic stem cells were created by transferring genetic material from a non-reproductive cell of a patient into a donated egg, or oocyte, from which the nucleus had been removed.
The method is called somatic cell nuclear transfer, or SNCT, researchers said.
Then oocytes with the genetic material of the patient were developed to the blastocyst stage, an early phase of embryo growth. Stem cells were then derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst.
Eighteen women, including 10 under the age of 30, donated the eggs, and 11 people, both male and female between two to 56 years old, donated skin cells to provide the non-reproductive tissue transferred to the denucleized egg to form the blastocyst.
Some 185 such eggs had their nucleus exchanged for genetic material from sufferers of juvenile diabetes, spinal chord injury and congenital hypogamma-globulinemia -- an illness that can give increased risk of infections.
The researchers said it took an average 17 eggs to make each stem cell line.
Hwang and his colleagues made international headlines in February 2004 when they announced the first-ever cloning of human embryos, from which they extracted embryonic stem cells. At that time, body cells and an egg obtained from one and the same woman were used for the cloning.
The team said such cloning for reproductive purposes would be dangerous and should not be attempted.
Hwang also cautioned it would take a long time before this process could be applied to treatment purposes, noting technology to control the direction of the growth of stem cells remains unavailable.
"We need technology to control the growth of stem cells into specific cells or tissues that may replace damaged ones," Hwang said.
Han Hoon, a leading expert in umbilical cord blood stem cells, raised questions about Hwang's claim that those embryo stem cells were free of rejections.
"Rejections could occur because of the eggs used in the cloning," he said, adding any embryonic stem cells could also develop into cancer cells in a receiver's body.
Experts here said South Korea was able to catch up fast with other advanced countries and is now a step ahead of them in embryonic stem cell research thanks to the government's flexible policy in biological engineering.
"In contrast to the United States where the extraction of human ova is strictly controlled, it is rather easy to obtain them in this country if you have written consent from a donor," Han said.
Park Se-Pill, head of the private Maria Infertility Hospital Medical Institute, said South Korea had a fertile ground for embryo stem cell research thanks to its well-developed infertility industry.
"South Korea has highly advanced assisted reproduction technology as many Korean parents do not hesitate to spend fortunes in order to have their own babies instead of adopting other's kids," Park said.
Diligent researchers, government's financial support and legal backing for stem cell research also contributed to the achievement, he said. |
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-05/20/content_444389.htm
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Seven of Nine
Sammie's Mammy
Joined: 16 Jun 2001
Posts: 7871
Location: North East England
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| Fri May 20, 2005 8:39 am |
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Yay! Makes me want to visit the Centre for Life (the place in Newcastle the research is taking place) even more. I support theraputic cloning, but not reproductive cloning in humans.
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
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Location: The Other Side
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| Fri May 20, 2005 10:10 am |
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I still believe that scientists need to learn how to produce stem cell lines by modifying "adult" stem cells from the patient. This technique might even (ultimately) be carried out in vivo (in the patients' own body).
Using eggs to produce embryos is still something closely related to abortion.
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"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 5885
Location: Slough, England
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| Fri May 20, 2005 10:13 am |
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I don't think there's anything wrong with cloning. Bring on the Clone Wars!
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Fri May 20, 2005 10:14 am |
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| madlilnerd wrote: | | I don't think there's anything wrong with cloning. Bring on the Clone Wars! |
.......................................................................
No more Star Wars for you.
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Dirt
Exercise Boy
Joined: 19 May 2003
Posts: 2086
Location: a tree
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| Fri May 20, 2005 11:30 am |
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I think this stuff is all kinds of spooky, 
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Mustkillbret
Rear Admiral
Joined: 19 Mar 2004
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Location: Here and There, Mostly There
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| Fri May 20, 2005 12:50 pm |
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Mmmm... clones, they taste pretty good  nah, its good, as long as it all goes right
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DONT PANIC!!!
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zero
Rear Admiral
Joined: 03 Apr 2005
Posts: 4566
Location: Texas
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| Fri May 20, 2005 1:18 pm |
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I could not be happier! I love that we (people) are advancing our skills in medicine, and giong to be able to treat conditions we never would have been able to w/o stem cell research...
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 5885
Location: Slough, England
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| Fri May 20, 2005 1:41 pm |
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| Founder wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | I don't think there's anything wrong with cloning. Bring on the Clone Wars! |
.......................................................................
No more Star Wars for you. |
*looks disappointed* awww... 
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Fri May 20, 2005 5:31 pm |
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I don't believe that I like this. I know human cloning is bad, but I'm not sure if I like cloning body parts...Embryo's are life, I don't like tampering with human life like that.
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
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Location: Slough, England
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| Fri May 20, 2005 5:34 pm |
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I think scientists can tamper as much as they want. It's their concience. Just leave them to get on with their work. People won't complain when science finds the answer to incurable diseases, but they complain when scientists "play God". Boo hoo, scientists playing God, it's their life and afterlife, not yours!
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
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| Fri May 20, 2005 5:37 pm |
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| madlilnerd wrote: | | I think scientists can tamper as much as they want. It's their concience. Just leave them to get on with their work. People won't complain when science finds the answer to incurable diseases, but they complain when scientists "play God". Boo hoo, scientists playing God, it's their life and afterlife, not yours! |
So? Does that mean that it's morally right, what they're doing? I don't give a DAMN if it's "there conscience." I give a damn about morality, that's what. Morality takes precedence.
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 5885
Location: Slough, England
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| Sat May 21, 2005 7:01 am |
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Different people have different ideas of morality.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
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| Sat May 21, 2005 1:10 pm |
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| madlilnerd wrote: | | Different people have different ideas of morality. |
But cloning humans is still immoral. Keep the ban in the US, and have it spread across the world.
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Arellia
The Quiet One
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 4425
Location: Dallas, TX
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| Sat May 21, 2005 4:37 pm |
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| zero wrote: | I could not be happier! I love that we (people) are advancing our skills in medicine, and giong to be able to treat conditions we never would have been able to w/o stem cell research...
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I disagree. I've yet to be convinced that stemcell research has much merit. Nanotechnology and biomedicine, not to mention naturopathic techniques...those I find to be promising medical advancements, areas that I plan on researching. But stemcells? Meh. Cloning bothers me, anyway, simply because it almost definitely promotes the accumulation of mutations and defects. It's inefficient. There is a good reason that natural selection favors animals that produce genetically distinct individuals.
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
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Location: Slough, England
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| Sun May 22, 2005 3:07 am |
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| Republican_Man wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | Different people have different ideas of morality. |
But cloning humans is still immoral. Keep the ban in the US, and have it spread across the world. |
IN YOUR OPINION it is immoral. The point I'm trying to make it that we all have different ideas of what's right and wrong and that sometimes you shouldn't force your morals onto other people. Why is it immoral? It doesn't say it's wrong in the Bible or any other religious teaching.
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Birdy
Socialist
Joined: 20 Sep 2004
Posts: 13502
Location: Here.
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| Sun May 22, 2005 8:22 am |
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| charmed88 wrote: | | This is great News! I'm glad the UK is one of the leading nations in stem cell reseach |
Yeah I think it's great progress for the world in treating diseases!
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Nosce te ipsum
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
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| Sun May 22, 2005 9:36 am |
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| madlilnerd wrote: | | Republican_Man wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | Different people have different ideas of morality. |
But cloning humans is still immoral. Keep the ban in the US, and have it spread across the world. |
IN YOUR OPINION it is immoral. The point I'm trying to make it that we all have different ideas of what's right and wrong and that sometimes you shouldn't force your morals onto other people. Why is it immoral? It doesn't say it's wrong in the Bible or any other religious teaching. |
To instantly create life is wrong. It's supposed to happen through procreation, not cloning. We should not put morality behind science, but infront of it.
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Sun May 22, 2005 11:12 am |
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| Republican_Man wrote: | | To instantly create life is wrong. It's supposed to happen through procreation, not cloning. We should not put morality behind science, but infront of it. |
Plants and bacteria clone themselves all the time. You're right though, I don't think the world could handle two Martha Stewarts or two Celine Dions.
I don't support the full cloning of a human being as a method of reproduction, because I am wary of science trying to improve upon natural processes--we still don't know enough about genetics to make me trust a full cloning process. Plus, I mean, look at the Asgard from Stargate SG-1, they have a lot of technology but eventually they reached a limit, eh.
I do, however, support the cloning of individual or groups of stem cells, because I realize that they are an important avenue of research in combatting disease and prolonging life. To prevent human cloning as an extension of stem cell research, just introduce legislation that bans human cloning rather than actual stem cell research. (I realize that is not your only argument against stem cell research, but one down. . . .)
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Mon May 23, 2005 7:24 am |
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| Republican_Man wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | Republican_Man wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | Different people have different ideas of morality. |
But cloning humans is still immoral. Keep the ban in the US, and have it spread across the world. |
IN YOUR OPINION it is immoral. The point I'm trying to make it that we all have different ideas of what's right and wrong and that sometimes you shouldn't force your morals onto other people. Why is it immoral? It doesn't say it's wrong in the Bible or any other religious teaching. |
To instantly create life is wrong. It's supposed to happen through procreation, not cloning. We should not put morality behind science, but infront of it. |
Do you feel it is wrong to clone cells (not embryos)? For example, how about the skin grafts made from foreskins. They help save many lives.
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 5885
Location: Slough, England
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| Mon May 23, 2005 10:47 am |
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| Republican_Man wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | Republican_Man wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | Different people have different ideas of morality. |
But cloning humans is still immoral. Keep the ban in the US, and have it spread across the world. |
IN YOUR OPINION it is immoral. The point I'm trying to make it that we all have different ideas of what's right and wrong and that sometimes you shouldn't force your morals onto other people. Why is it immoral? It doesn't say it's wrong in the Bible or any other religious teaching. |
To instantly create life is wrong. It's supposed to happen through procreation, not cloning. We should not put morality behind science, but infront of it. |
I do believe that a baby should be made through love, but I don't see why so many people oppose cloning. Nature does cloning. You get identical twins.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Mon May 23, 2005 5:58 pm |
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| madlilnerd wrote: | | Republican_Man wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | Republican_Man wrote: | | madlilnerd wrote: | | Different people have different ideas of morality. |
But cloning humans is still immoral. Keep the ban in the US, and have it spread across the world. |
IN YOUR OPINION it is immoral. The point I'm trying to make it that we all have different ideas of what's right and wrong and that sometimes you shouldn't force your morals onto other people. Why is it immoral? It doesn't say it's wrong in the Bible or any other religious teaching. |
To instantly create life is wrong. It's supposed to happen through procreation, not cloning. We should not put morality behind science, but infront of it. |
I do believe that a baby should be made through love, but I don't see why so many people oppose cloning. Nature does cloning. You get identical twins. |
Nature's fine. But human manipulation of human life...not good.
And I don't believe that I oppose the cloning of individual cells, but not embryos and above.
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"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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madlilnerd
Duchess of Dancemat
Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 5885
Location: Slough, England
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| Tue May 24, 2005 3:34 pm |
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It's probably quite retarted or possibly ironic to post this on the internet, but some days I wish we could go back a few hundred years so we wouldn't have to deal with all the modern moral problems like cloning and abortion, and to get away from some of this modern technology.
As the Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy says: "And so the problem remained; lot's of people were mean, and most of them were miserable, even the ones with digital watches. Many were increasingly of the opinion that they'd all made a big mistake coming down from the trees in the first place."
Simplicity would be bliss.
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