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Monday November 26 10:43 AM ET Australia Expert: Cloned Embryo No Ethical Dilemma (AP) MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The recent cloning in the United States of a human embryo was another step toward using stem cell technology to treat a range of diseases, Australian stem cell researcher Professor Alan Trounson said Monday. He also said the latest move created no new ethical or moral dilemmas. ``I don't adhere to the slippery slope principle, otherwise I don't think we would have any cures in medicine,'' he told Reuters. But embryo cloning might not be necessary in the longer term, as other solutions could be found to the rejection problem facing stem cell treatment, he added. ``I think it is an important small step, but I would only see it in the form of giving us more research information to solve the problem in another way,'' said Trounson, of Monash University in Melbourne. ``I don't think in the long term we will use that particular technique.'' US biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology Inc. (ACT) said last weekend it had cloned a human embryo for the first time in a move aimed at using the new technology to treat a range of diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's. It emphasized its breakthrough was not aimed at creating a cloned human being. However, within hours of the announcement, the research was denounced by religious groups and key US political leaders. Stem cells are master cells that can develop into different types of tissues. The technique is controversial as these cells are usually derived from embryos or fetuses. Monash University is among several companies and medical institutions in the world named in August by President Bush (news - web sites) as holding stem cell lines that are eligible to tap US federal medical research funds. Trounson said there were plenty of stem cells available for research but rejection of cells by a patient's immune system was a key issue in longer-term future clinical use. Trounson said cloning was only one possible way of solving the rejection problem. ``I think there are very good alternative options, but it is early days, and I don't think I could tell you I have a proven way of doing that yet, but I think that will come in due course,'' he said. Australia is yet to decide on national cloning laws, and one independent MP Monday called for a ban on all embryo cloning and for those involved in such research to have their funding cut. Senator Brian Harradine accused ACT of ``tinkering with the very essence of human life,'' misleading the public and offering false hope to the sick by using terms such as ``therapeutic cloning.'' ``Urgent action is needed to ban cloning of human embryos for any purpose and to cut off funding for any scientist or company involved,'' Harradine said. A leading institute in India reacted cautiously to the ACT breakthrough. ``While this recent published report by ACT is an interesting development, it is also very preliminary. If stem cells are established by either or both methods described in their report, that would be a major development,'' said Dr. K. Vijay Raghavan, director of the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore. ``It should be said that any attempts to use the embryonic cells generated to develop into cloned humans will be completely unacceptable by all sensible researchers. Indeed, ACT has specifically said that it has no intention to do so, which is very reassuring,'' he added. SOURCE: Yahoo Daily News (good links here) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011126/hl/aussie_1.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn