London, England, Apr 2, 2008 / 19:41 pm
The creation of the United Kingdom’s first human-animal hybrid embryo may increase pressure for tougher regulation of the research, Bloomberg News reports.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales said it was “extraordinary” that the experiment was licensed before a full debate about regulating the techniques had taken place.
Researcher Lyle Armstrong and colleagues at Newcastle University made the embryos using human cells and a cow egg. DNA from a human skin cell was inserted into a cow egg whose nucleus and genetic material had been removed.
Some scientists claim that embryonic stem cells have large potential for medical treatment because of their ability to turn into any of the cell types found in the human body. However, zero treatments or therapies have emerged from embryonic stem cell related research. On the other hand, research using adult stem cells has led to over 70 different therapies and treatments.