UK: From Sheep to People ... Creators of Dolly Want To Create Human Embryos For Stem Cell Research ...

12:40 AM Apr. 21, 2004 PT

The creators of Dolly the sheep, the world's first mammal cloned from an adult, want to create cloned human embryos for
stem-cell research, one of the scientists said Wednesday.

The Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, Scotland, said it is considering applying to the government's fertility authority
for a license to carry out the procedure, known as therapeutic cloning.

The scientist who led the team that created Dolly said it would be "immoral" not to use therapeutic cloning for stem-
cell research, which many scientists believe could help treat disorders such as motor neurone disease, Parkinson's and
diabetes.

SOURCE: WiredNEWS
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,63159,00.html

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UK: Dolly Scientists Want To Create Cloned Human Embryos For Stem Cell Research
MICHAEL McDONOUGH, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, April 21, 2004

URL: sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/04/21/international1148EDT0599.DTL

(04-21) 08:48 PDT LONDON (AP) --

The creators of Dolly the sheep, the world's first mammal cloned from an adult, want to create cloned human embryos for
stem cell research, one of the scientists said Wednesday.

The Roslin Institute, near Edinburgh, Scotland, said it is considering applying to the government's fertility authority
for a license to carry out the procedure, known as therapeutic cloning.

The purpose is not to create a baby, but to harvest stem cells from very early stage embryos -- a procedure still
opposed by some because embryos are destroyed.

Ian Wilmut, who led the team which created Dolly, said it would be "immoral" not to use therapeutic cloning for stem
cell research, which many scientists believe could help treat disorders such as Parkinson's disease and diabetes.

In February, a South Korean-led team reported the world's first success at harvesting stem cells from a cloned human
embryo.

In the United States, Advanced Cell Technology of Worcester, Mass., has unsuccessfully tried to produce stem cells
through human cloning.

"This will create totally new opportunities to begin to understand disease. To begin to test new drugs and to research
disease in totally new ways," Wilmut told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

Britain legalized therapeutic cloning in 2001, becoming the first country in the world to do so. The move allowed
scientists to create cloned embryos only for purposes of extracting stem cells for medical research.

But scientists wishing to perform therapeutic cloning in Britain also need a license from the government's Human
Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which has not yet granted any for the procedure. The HFEA says it looks "very
carefully at the scientific, ethical and medical issues before granting any license for research on human embryos." The
body wasn't immediately able to say whether it had rejected any therapeutic cloning license applications in the past.

Wilmut said he accepted that, if his proposed application was successful, his research would face opposition.

"Of course, to some people, to do anything with a human embryo is a deeply offensive idea," he told the BBC.

Roslin Institute spokesman Harry Griffin said the institute's internal ethics committee would first have to examine the
application and refused to speculate as to when the committee might reach a decision.

Last year, the HFEA granted the Roslin Institute a license for human embryo stem cell research using donated embryos
from fertility clinics.

Roslin Institute: http://www.ri.bbsrc.ac.uk

Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority: www.hfea.gov.uk/Home

SOURCE: Associated Press / SFGate
http://tinyurl.com/2np5e

- - -

Q&A: Therapeutic Cloning

Last Updated: Wednesday, 21 April, 2004, 08:37 GMT 09:37 UK

The scientists who cloned Dolly the sheep are applying for a licence to clone human embryos. BBC News Online looks at
the significance of the announcement.

What do the researchers want to do?

They plan to take DNA from the blood or skin of a person with motor neurone disease (MND) and implant it into a human
egg from which the genetic material has been removed.

The egg would then be stimulated to develop into an embryo.

The scientists then plan to extract stem cells from the embryo while it is still in the earliest stages of development.


These cells have the potential to develop into many different types of tissue.

In theory, it should be possible to use them to create the various types of nerve cell that are affected by MND, and to
study how the disease disrupts their function.

The embryo would be destroyed while still just a few days old.

What is the point of the research?

Disease like MND are difficult to study because patients who show symptoms are already sick. Research at this stage is
considered unethical, and may not reveal much about the genesis of the condition anyway.

The aim here is to examine the effect that the disease has on the body's cells, and to use that information to develop
new treatments.

The technique could potentially also be applied to a range of other disorders including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's,
diabetes and even heart disease.

Is it legal?

Yes, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority decided to make "therapeutic" cloning legal in 2001.

This means that scientists can apply for a licence to clone human embryos provided they intend to use them to study
disease in a laboratory situation only.

The cloning of human embryos with the intention of creating a baby - reproductive cloning - is still strictly banned in
the UK.

Embryos used for research must be destroyed when the work is finished. At this stage, they are still in an early stage
of development, a bundle of several hundred cells.

It is controversial?

Yes. Opponents say an embryo, regardless of its stage of development, is still potentially a human being in the making.


Proponents argue that experimentation takes place long before an embryo begins to develop any nervous system, or sense
of self - and as such cannot be defined as a human life.

They argue that the work is vital if effective treatments are to be found for debilitating diseases.

Have other scientists created cloned human embryos?

Yes. A South Korean team announced earlier this year that they had 30 embryos that were the exact genetic copies of the
women who donated the eggs and cells to make them.

The embryos were allowed to develop for several days, and embryonic stem cells were extracted from them.

The eventual aim, in this case, is to use such cells to replace those that have failed in patients with degenerative
diseases, such as some heart conditions and Parkinson's, or in spinal cord injuries.

How long will it be before therapeutic cloning produces results?

Experts believe it will be many years before stem cell treatments based on cloning technology are available.

However, healthy cells from a cloned embryo could potentially be implanted into a patient to help cure disease.

The cells, because they would have the same genetic make-up as other cells in the patient's body, should in theory
avoid rejection by the immune system.

At the moment, patients have to take powerful drugs to prevent their body's immune system from attacking tissues
transplanted from another person.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/3645195.stm

Published: 2004/04/21 08:37:32 GMT

SOURCE: BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3645195.stm

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