Britain decides boundaries of stem-cell tech
A ruling is expected Wednesday on creating human-animal embryos.
By Mark Rice-Oxley | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the September 4, 2007 edition
 Page 1 of 2
LONDON - Britain is poised to make a landmark ruling Wednesday on whether
scientists can fuse human cells with animal eggs to develop stem cells for
therapeutic purposes, a contentious process hitherto conducted only in
China.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will rule on
applications by two teams of scientists for licenses to create human-animal
embryos, sometimes known as hybrids or chimeras, from which stem cells could
be extracted to help understand and treat genetic disorders.
Whatever the outcome, the decision is likely to generate fresh controversy
toward stem-cell research - the science of utilizing embryos for therapeutic
purposes. Critics argue this is "playing God," and say the idea of going
still further and mixing human and animal material is ethically repugnant
and probably of limited practical value. The US, Canada, and Australia have
all specifically banned the creation of hybrids.
But stem-cell researchers say they desperately need the animal matter
because not enough human eggs are available. Britain has adopted an
accommodating attitude toward stem-cell science, fostering a favorable
environment that scientists argue would be undermined if this latest
experimentation is rejected.
"We pride ourselves here on working in a pro-science environment," says
Stephen Minger, director of stem-cell biology at King's College London, one
of two scientists who have applied for the HFEA license. "It would be viewed
as a depressing turn of events" if the application were turned down.
Stem-cell research involves harvesting embryos within the first two weeks of
their creation, when young cells have the potential to develop into any
organ. The cells can be used to identify genetic imperfections that lead to
illnesses.
Britain has one of the most permissive approaches in the world, alongside
the likes of China and South Korea. British scientists have already won
permission to clone new embryos, using spare eggs harvested during in vitro
fertilization treatment (IVF).
But scientists say there are not nearly enough fresh human eggs. Many
hundreds may be needed to generate a single stem-cell line. Donation rates
are low (infertile women must increasingly go overseas for IVF) and few
women will undergo a complicated, risky procedure for the sake of science.
Dr. Minger's idea is to remove the genetic material from an animal egg so
that it is just a shell and insert the DNA from a human cell. He says eggs
could be taken from the ovaries of thousands of cows that are slaughtered
every day.
And, he adds: "If you take an egg and remove the DNA, you have an empty
shell that no longer has a species identity. By using cow eggs, we are
availing ourselves of a source of a very large number of eggs without the
need to put women through an invasive procedure from which we will never get
very many eggs."
The result, he predicts, will be a greater ability to generate stem cells
that will be useful "in trying to understand the basic disease mechanism
behind catastrophic neurological disorders where we haven't been very good
at developing therapies."
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States race to lead stem-cell research 02/25/2004

Rayilyn Brown
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Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation
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