On Wednesday, 11 August, 2004, BBC Online reported the British Government had given permission for UK researchers, at the University of Newcastle, to perform therapeutic cloning, for the purpose of harvesting stem cells to treat diabetes and other conditions. It will use the same techniques used to create Dolly the sheep -- but with a critical difference.
We hear about "embryonic" stem cells, or else about "adult" stem cells - with much politics about "harvesting embryos" leading to the destruction of human life. These are different. BBC reports the cloning technique, known as cell nuclear replacement (CNR) involves removing the nucleus of a human egg cell and replacing it with the nucleus from a human body cell, such as a skin cell. The egg is then artificially stimulated, causing the egg to divide and behave in a similar way to an embryo fertilized by sperm. Conception never takes place -- so no human life is destroyed.
Stem cell research is not the magic bullet some folks think. Many questions remain. The researchers believe this is the first time anyone has received such a license, in the UK, in Europe, and perhaps anywhere in the world. They warn it will be at least five years -- if not many more -- before patients could receive stem cell treatments based on their work. There is a great deal more to do.