How important is the latest cloning feat?

Fri, 01/18/2008 - 20:00 - NLN

Scientists at Stemagen, a small biotechnology company in La Jolla, CA, reported yesterday that they have for the first time generated cloned human blastocysts -- early-stage embryos -- from adult skin cells. This is the first step in generating stem cell lines matched to individuals, which are crucial for creating new cellular models of disease and potentially important for future tissue replacement therapies.

The new findings also confirm that access to fresh eggs from healthy young donors is a key part of successful cloning. Lack of access to human eggs has been the major barrier in the field.

Experts in the field have had a mixed reaction to the new work. "It's a nice achievement, but in my view, they haven't crossed the bar," says Evan Snyder, director of the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Program at the Burnham Institute in La Jolla. "The real test will be, can you generate cell lines that are stable and self-renewing and normal?" Others applaud the confirmation of the feasibility of human cloning.

Read full story in Technology Review.