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Thanks for sharing this information. It's pertinent to all of us. nina Bill Innanen wrote: > /==============================================================\ > | Bill Innanen's Forwarding Service (BIFS) | > |--------------------------------------------------------------| > | I've forwarded this message to you because I thought | > | that you might be interested in the subject matter. If I'm | > | wrong in this assumption, please let me know and I'll not | > | send material on this subject again. Please note that I'm | > | not the author of this material (I try to preserve the | > | author's headers) and that the material may have copyright | > | restrictions. -- Bill Innanen <[log in to unmask]> | > \==============================================================/ > > [from myCNN - no URL available] > > Geron tries cloning without using eggs > > January 27, 2000 > Web posted at: 2:05 PM EST (1905 GMT) > > LONDON (Reuters) -- The scientists that cloned Dolly the Sheep are > working on a new method to cut the need for human egg cells and > cloned embryos, a magazine said Wednesday. > > If successful, Geron BioMed's technique could remove a major ethical > obstacle to using therapeutic cloning to repair cells or human organs > damaged by disease, New Scientist reported. > > The research firm, launched by the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh > where Dolly was cloned and now owned by U.S. biotechnology company > Geron Corp, is already testing the technique on mouse and sheep cells. > > "We have some completely novel ideas which we can't disclose now. > Once we confirm the hypothesis in sheep, we might be able to try it > in people three years later," Simon Best, Geron BioMed's managing > director, told the magazine. > > New Scientist said that unlike conventional cloning, in which the > gutted egg reprograms the genes of the donor cell, winding back their > developmental clock, the new technique will use embryonic stem cells. > > "In this case, the reprogrammed cells wouldn't form an embryo, but > instead develop directly into the cells or tissues the patient > needs," the magazine said. > > The embryonic stem cells, which can develop into any of the body's > tissues, will still come from human embryos but the technique will > reduce the number of embryos needed because they can be grown in > culture. > > When Geron acquired the research company from the Roslin Institute > last year it said it planned to focus on growing human tissue that > would not have the immune system problems with donor organs. > > Geron recently won the first two British patents covering the > technology used to clone Dolly the sheep. The nuclear transfer > technique involves taking the nucleus out of an adult cell and using > it to reprogram an unfertilized egg. > > The patents also cover the new technique. > > "Rather than specifying eggs, the patents describe fusion of donor > cell with 'a suitable recipient cell'," the magazine added.