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The Sydney Morning Herald Cell research may make ethics debate redundant By Michael Bradley April 25 2003 Scientists say they have discovered a way of producing embryonic stem cells that could sidestep the entire ethical debate surrounding such research. Those who oppose embryonic stem cell research on ethical grounds - including that it is tantamount to killing - may now be sidelined as scientists say they have found a way to produce stem cells from unfertilised eggs. Scientists from a United States biotechnology company, Stemron Corporation, have produced embryos capable of providing stem cells which can never become human beings. It is the first time scientists have used a technique called parthenogenesis - a form of reproduction in which the egg develops without fertilisation - on human cells. The phenomenon has been observed to occur naturally in many insects, and artificial parthenogenesis has been achieved in almost all groups of animals, but it usually results in abnormal development and embryos that die after a few days. Stemron researchers have reported in the journal Stem Cells the successful use of artificial parthenogenesis to produce human embryonic cells that survived for a number of days. Associate Professor Martin Pera, of the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development, described the findings as an "interesting advancement", but said they were not totally unexpected. The most intriguing aspect of the work would be in determining whether the cells were "normal", he said. As for the research's ethical implications, he said: "Some people might put parthenogenetic embryos in a different category to normal embryonic stem cells, but whether that completely obviates the argument, I don't know. Some people will still have objections." The medical director of Sydney IVF, Professor Robert Jansen, agreed the advance was hopeful, but said it was unclear whether such research would be legal here because the Prohibition of Human Cloning Act 2002 failed to properly define an embryo. SOURCE: The Sydney Morning Herald http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/24/1050777360904.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn