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California cloning might be 'genie out of the bottle' STEVE TIMKO RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Posted: 1/18/2008 If the recent claim by California scientists that they successfully cloned human embryos is true, it would be a valuable tool for stem cell treatment, a University of Nevada, Reno researcher said Thursday. Dr. Samuel Wood, chief executive of Stemagen Corp. of La Jolla, Calif., said this week his company is attempting to get stem cells from clones created by combining donated eggs with the skin from two men. If the results are verified, it would be a major step toward using stem cells to alter people's genes and treat diseases. A medical ethicist, though, warned the process fans persistent concern in the bioethics community that this also is a step towards cloning humans, which is illegal in the United States and many other countries. The Roman Catholic Church opposes anything that involves the destruction of embryos, a spokesman for the Diocese of Reno said. Esmail Zanjani, professor and chairman of animal biotechnology at UNR, said other proposed stem cell treatments involve cells that are not exact matches to the person being treated. "Although the stem cells exist, they're not from the patient," Zanjani said. "So, you can't use them to treat the patient because there will be rejection phenomena." The cells melt to alter a person's genetic make up to treat disease will be rejected just like some people reject organ transplants, he said. Reproduction aspect Marin Gillis, director of Medical Humanities and Ethics for the University of Nevada Medical School, said the prevailing attitude among ethicists that the development to create better stems also is a step towards cloning for human reproduction. "Once this technique has been developed and they're going to publish it in scientific journals, it's the whole genie-out-of-the-bottle problem," Gillis said. While human cloning might not be allowed in the United States, some fear a rogue nation might allow it, essentially creating something similar to medical tourism, or it might be done on an unclaimed island some where, Gillis said. "Somebody somewhere is going to have the incentive, financial or to be the first one to do it, to actually make a human clone," Gillis said. Brother Matthew Cunningham of the Diocese of Reno said there has been discussion of creating stem cells out of skin alone. That kind of stem cell creation is acceptable to the church, Cunningham said. "If an embryo is created, no matter how it is created, if it killed to take out the stem cells, you are still taking a human life," Cunningham said. "Do we create life and then destroy it for the benefit of another person?" 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