Australia expands stem cell research to cloning and reprogramming
Scientists in Australia may become the next to try obtaining stem cells from clonal human embryos. After the federal government removed its moratorium, teams of researchers from Monash University and the Australian Stem Cell Centre applied for licenses to proceed from the Embryo Research Licensing Committee. The committee met last week, but decisions have not been released.
The big question remains vague: How will the researchers obtain the human eggs? Media reports say that the eggs will be leftover from fertility treatments. But since all eggs are typically exposed to sperm during IVF, leftover eggs are rare. Granted, some fail to fertilize, but these appear to be bad candidates for cloning work. Will these instead be from an "egg sharing" arrangement, in which a woman or couple receives a discount on IVF in exchange for providing a portion of the extracted eggs to stem cell researchers. Australia bans payments for eggs [PDF], but so does the United Kingdom, which recently approved such an arrangement.
Media coverage was, unfortunately, thin and occasionally misleading:
Scientists want permission to use eggs left over from fertility treatment to clone human embryonic stem cells, in order to study a number of diseases including Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis.
The green light for the controversial science could lead to cures for the afflictions in less than 10 years.
Ironically, other researchers at the Australian Stem Cell Centre are now the first outside of the US and Japan to work with reprogrammed stem cells, also known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS). This method is not only rapidly emerging as an alternative to embryonic stem cells, but also gradually sending cloning-based stem cell research to a quiet death.
Previously on Biopolitical Times: