Scientists move closer to human therapeutic cloning

Wed, 06/20/2007 - 19:10 - NLN

Human therapeutic cloning has moved a step closer after U.S. researchers said they had successfully created embyonic stem cells from monkey embryos. In what would be a world-first breakthrough, scientists told a stem cell research conference in the Australian city of Cairns this week that they had successfully created two batches of embryonic stem cells from cloned rhesus monkey embryos.

"We've been looking for this evidence for a long time," Australian stem cell pioneer Alan Trounson from the Melbourne-based Monash University Stem Cell Centre told Reuters.

"It's very important to have this, to know that we can do this, because it may result in a lot of new cell lines than can help us understand some complex diseases."

Read full story in Reuters