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Britain decides boundaries of stem-cell tech A ruling is expected Wednesday on creating human-animal embryos. from the September 4, 2007 edition Page 2 of 2 Some experts point out that tiny amounts of animal matter known as mitochondria, which control energy generation within a cell, will remain in the animal egg. Still, Minger appears to have broad support from the scientific community. More than 40 ethicists, biologists, and scientists wrote an open letter earlier this year calling for the HFEA to approve the research. Religious groups and pro-life organizations have voiced their disapproval, however, and a study published by the HFEA itself on Monday showed that they enjoy wider public support than might otherwise have been expected in deeply secular Britain. According to the survey of 2,000 people, while 56 percent of people agreed that scientists should be allowed to use human embryos in research, only 35 percent agreed with the idea of mixing human and animal matter to create an embryo for research purposes; 48 percent disagreed. "There is religious opposition to it, there is concern from animal rights activists, and there is also opposition from scientists who consider it unnecessary," says Josephine Quintavalle, director of CORE, a not-for-profit public-interest group devoted to reproductive ethics, which among other things defends the embryo's right to life. She argues that the process is deeply impractical, noting that the science has thus far produced very few stem cells from cloning. "If hybridization is difficult and cloning is even more difficult, is this the most sensible way forward?" she asks. Evan Harris thinks so. As a lawmaker on a parliamentary committee that has oversight in this field, he says that although some scientists say it might not work, "you can only know by trying. "No scientist I have found has provided scientific reasons as opposed to religiously based ethical reasons for not proceeding," he adds, even though his committee "looked high and low for such scientists." An HFEA spokeswoman refused to predict the outcome of Wednesday's decision. "The authority doesn't want to hamper scientific research," she says, "but it is our job to make sure it's safe and appropriate." Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson's Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn