CGS-authored

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=102005RL2UAO
On Thursday, a small biotech company made controversial stem-cell research waves with an announcement that it has cloned human embryos using SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer). The research is published in the current issue of the scientific journal Stem Cells.

Stemagen CEO Samuel H. Wood, M.D., Ph.D., and donor of the cells from which the embryos were cloned, called the achievement "a critical milestone in the development of patient-specific embryonic stem cells for human therapeutic use, potentially including developing treatments for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases."

The news met with praise on one side of the stem-cell fence and criticism on the other side. Proponents of stem-cell research look at the promise of creating embryonic stem cells that could be used to treat disease. Opponents are concerned scientists will open the door to cloned human beings.

The Stemagen Breakthrough

In the study, cloned blastocysts were successfully created from approximately 10 percent of all mature donated oocytes, an unexpectedly high rate given past research in this field.

According to Stemagen Chief Scientific Officer Andrew French, Ph.D., lead author on the...

Human Cloning