-Caveat Lector- http://www.portal.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/11/26/wclon26
.xml&sSheet=/portal/2001/11/26/ixport.html WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! First human embryo is cloned By David Derbyshire, Science Correnspondent (Filed: 26/11/2001) AMERICAN scientists claimed yesterday to have cloned the first human embryo, spreading deep alarm among pro-life groups. If the experiments carried out by Advanced Cell Technology, one of America's leading biotechnology companies, are confirmed, it marks a major development in genetic research. The company says it has no plans to use cloned embryos to create babies. Instead it wants to exploit the unspecialised stem cells found in newly conceived embryos for a host of new medical treatments. British cloning experts last night stressed that the company had yet to prove it had created a clone. But pro-life campaigners described the experiments as horrific. Earlier this year the Government approved a change in the law to allow research in Britain into cloned human embryos for medical research. Dr Robert Lanza, vice president of medical and scientific development at ACT, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, said: "Our intention is not to create cloned human beings. "Rather it is to make lifesaving therapies for a wide range of human disease conditions, including diabetes, strokes, cancer, Aids and neuro-degenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease." The ACT team said it created the embryo using the same technique that was used for Dolly the sheep. It first scraped out the DNA from a human egg cell, then injected it with the nucleus from a human skin cell and finally kick-started the egg with electricity. The experiments were intended to exploit the potential of embryonic stem cells - the body's "master cells", which can go on to turn into any type of tissue such as muscle, blood, skin or brain. Michael West, chief executive officer of ACT, said: "The entities we are creating are not individuals. They're only cellular life; they're not human life." President Bush ruled earlier this year that federal funds could be used for research on embryonic stem cells created before August. Federal money cannot be used to fund human cloning research and the White House reiterated last night that Mr Bush remained "100 per cent" against such work. Ian Wilmut, of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, who cloned Dolly the sheep, urged caution over the announcement. Because unfertilised eggs could divide spontaneously, the "embryos" might not have been clones, he said. The embryos were also slow to develop, he said. "This should be regarded as a preliminary finding." The Vatican expressed caution and reservation, saying that further scientific verification was necessary. If a real embryo was created, then destroyed, "that must be condemned", said a spokesman. On the other hand, if ACT had come up with stem cells from other, non-embryonic stem cells, "then we are talking about a veritable scientific achievement that we could see as ethically positive". Bruno Quintavelle, director of the Pro Life Alliance, said the American research should raise concern in Britain. He said: "We're horrified by the news. We have to act soon or someone will exploit the situation in this country. Scientists cannot be trusted to act responsibly." Legistlation intended to prevent doctors from implanting cloned human embryos in humans is expected to go before MPs within days. But, Mr Quintavelle said, the Bill did not stop anyone from creating those cloned cells in the first place. He said: "This country is being targeted by the cloning industry. They are going to flock here." *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. 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