Groundbreaking research into human cloning gets go-ahead

The first licence to create human embryonic stem cells for cloning has been awarded to a research team based in Newcastle.

Under the terms of the one-year licence granted to Newcastle Centre for Life, stem cells created using a technique called therapeutic cloning can only be used for research purposes only.

Awarding the licence, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said that it had taken "careful consideration of all the scientific, ethical, legal and medical aspects of the project" before making its decision.

In the UK, research on human embryos is only permitted for certain purposes. The purpose of this research is to increase knowledge about the development of embryos and enable this knowledge to be applied in developing treatments for serious disease, the HFEA said.

Under the initial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (1990) the HFEA could only grant licences if it was satisfied the use of human embryos was for one of the following purposes:

• to promote advances in the treatment of infertility
• to increase knowledge about the causes of congenital disease
• to increase knowledge about the causes of miscarriages
• to develop more effective techniques of contraception
• and to develop methods for detecting the presence of gene or chromosome abnormalities.

Suzi Leather, HFEA Chair, said: "This is an important area of research and a responsible use of technology. The HFEA is there to make sure any research involving human embryos is scrutinised and properly regulated."

The licence allows scientists to create human embryos by inserting the nuclei from human skin or stem cells into human eggs. The egg is then artificially stimulated. This causes the egg to divide and behave in a similar way to a standard embryo fertilised by sperm.

The research is preliminary, it is not aimed at specific illnesses, but is the foundation for further development in the treatment of serious disease.

(gmcg)