| A special licensing committee of the UK Human Fertilization & Embryology Authority (HFEA) met on June 16 in London to decide whether to grant a license to scientists at The Center for Life at Newcastle University. If approved, this will be the first license to begin research involving cell nuclear replacement (therapeutic cloning), focusing on the treatment of diabetes in the UK and will be a first in Europe.
Therapeutic cloning, for the derivation of embryonic stem cells, has the potential to lead to cures for serious diseases such as Alheizmer's, Parkinson's, heart failure and cancer. The UK has a strict regulatory system for human embryonic stem cell research. If the license is approved, it will allow this important work to begin. The UK was one of the first countries in the world to pass legislation to explicitly ban reproductive cloning.
This is linked to my earlier message asking for submissions to my MSc research (via an online questionnaire). It asks you what you think of therapeutic stem cell research and your understanding of the term and what you feel are the risks and ethics of such techniques.
Let me know your thoughts by visiting http://www.urbansea.com/s802/ .
Kind regards
Steven | |
