Human/Animal Embryos to be Created in UK

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jan/17/medicalresearch.genetics

 

 

Human-animal embryos to be created in UK

 

* David Batty and agencies

* guardian.co.uk,

* Thursday January 17 2008

 

Human-animal embryos are to be created in the UK after scientists today

won approval for the controversial research from the fertility and

embryo research watchdog.

 

The decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)

means that teams from King's College London and Newcastle University can

now pursue research using the embryos, which could lead to new

treatments for a range of diseases.

 

The stem cell biology laboratory at King's College is now able to use

human-bovine embryos to study degenerative neurological diseases such as

Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

 

The Northeast England Stem Cell Institute at Newcastle University is now

cleared to use cow eggs to develop stem cells in order to grow

replacement tissues for treating conditions such as diabetes and spinal

paralysis.

 

A statement from the HFEA said: " The HFEA licence committee determined

that the two applications satisfied all the requirements of the law and

has now offered one-year research licences to the two applicants,

subject to a series of detailed conditions in each case. "

 

The two research teams want to produce cytoplasmic hybrids - created by

transferring the nuclei of human cells, such as skin cells, into animal

eggs from which almost all the genetic information has been removed.

 

The resulting embryo would contain only a tiny amount of animal DNA -

around 0.1% - and the rest of the DNA would be human. The embryo would

be grown in a lab and within a week would have divided to form a tiny

ball of around 200 cells. Scientists believe they could provide an

invaluable source of embryonic stem cells for use in research on human

diseases.

 

Dr Lyle Armstrong, of Newcastle University, said the granting of the

award was " great news " , and expressed hopes the team could now make

" rapid progress " .

 

He said: " We initially applied for approval to use cow eggs as a means

to understand the way they can convert skin cells into embryonic stem

cells.

 

" Finding better ways to make human embryonic stem cells is the long term

objective of our work and understanding reprogramming is central to

this.

 

" Cow eggs seem to be every bit as good at doing this job as human eggs

so it makes sense to use them since they are much more readily available

but it is important to stress that we will only use them as a scientific

tool and we need not worry about cells derived from them ever being used

to treat human diseases. "

 

Professor Stephen Minger, director of the King's College team, thanked

scientists, medical charities and patient organisations for their

support during the application process. He added: " This shows that the

scientific community can be involved in and influence government

policy. "

 

The HFEA said in September that it agreed in principle with the creation

of hybrid embryos.

 

A consultation paper published by the HFEA showed that the public was

mostly " at ease " with the proposals once the full research implications

had been explained.

 

The government published the human tissue and embryos bill, which

includes a regulation-making power that could lead to human-animal

hybrid embryos being allowed. The HFEA has carried out its own review

under existing laws ahead of parliament passing the new legislation.

 

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, head of stem cell biology at the Medical

Research Council's national institute for medical research, said: " The

HFEA's decision is excellent as it adds to the arsenal of techniques UK

scientists can use to provide understanding and eventually develop

therapies for a wide range of devastating genetic diseases. "

 

But the move has attracted ire from religious groups and pro-life

campaigners.

 

John Smeaton, national director of the Society for the Protection of

Unborn Children (SPUC) said: " The HFEA decision represents a disastrous

setback for human dignity in Britain. The deliberate blurring of the

boundaries between humans and other species is wrong and strikes at the

heart of what makes us human. "

 

--

Mario Huet

Libertarian Alliance Forum

List Administrator