Dolly Scientist abandons Cloning
The scientist who created Dolly the sheep is abandoning cloning in favour of a new ethical technique which produces stem cells without an embryo. Professor Ian Wilmut has decided that the method he pioneered 10 years ago is no longer the best way to grow a patient's own cells and tissues to help treat a range of medical conditions. Instead, he is planning to switch to a revolutionary and less controversial technique - developing cells from fragments of skin. New method does not require the use of human embryos, thereby removing the concern cited by the religious right and others opposed to stem cell research. Instead of coming from cloned embryos, stem cells - which can be grown into any type of organ - will be harvested from skin. In essence, the process is 'easier to accept socially' than the therapeutic cloning process. Now Professor Wilmut has decided not to pursue a licence to clone human embryos, an award he was granted just two years ago. The new technique being adopted by the scientist comes from work by Professor Shinya Yamanaka from Kyoto University. Research on mice has seen Professor Yamanaka create stem cells from fragments of skin. Sources in the scientific community believe he has now done the same with human cells. It is thought that the pioneering technique could lead the way to scientists harvesting a patient's own cells and then using them to repair damage caused by disease. The move has been welcomed by pro-life ethics groups.
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