Cloning ban 'may drive scientists to UK'
The United States can expect a scientific exodus to Britain if Congress succeeds in criminalising ‘‘therapeutic’’ human cloning for medical purposes, biotechnology executives say.
‘‘If this is outlawed in the United States, we will see our best scientific minds moving overseas,’’ said Tom Tureen, a director of Advanced Cell Technology, the only US company that has gone public with plans to clone eggs to make human embryos for use in a variety of therapies.
Tureen spoke a day after the House of Representatives voted to make all human cloning illegal, even for medical purposes, and punishable by up to dlrs 1 million (£67,000) in fines and 10 years in prison.
A companion bill is awaiting action in the Senate, where Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota said he was ‘‘opposed to the effort to clone under virtually any circumstances’’.
In cloning, scientists remove the nucleus from an egg and replace it with the nucleus from an adult cell, which contains the DNA of the donor.
The egg is allowed to develop into an embryo. For reproduction, the embryo would be placed in a woman’s womb and carried until birth. For developing medical treatments, stem cells would be removed, which kills the embryo.
Advanced Cell, based in Worcester, Massachusetts, plans to create and grow embryos without sperm, using the same cloning technology that created Dolly the sheep.
The process involves taking stem cells from four-day-old embryos.
Researchers say these stem cells can be grown into cells capable of repairing the heart, liver, brain and other vital organs.
Advanced Cell and other companies working in the area believe therapeutic cloning is key to the success of the medicine of the future, which they say will revolutionise medical care - and promote longevity of those who can afford it - by regenerating sick tissue.
Because the cells used in treatment originate from the genetic material of the patient being treated, proponents say therapeutic cloning is the best way to avoid immune rejection, considered the biggest obstacle to making regenerative medicine workable.
Although Advanced Cell has yet to clone a human embryo, it is working hard to do so and has already collected eggs from paid donors.
