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Scientists at Newcastle University in the UK have already produced almost 300 hybrid embryos, by inserting human DNA into cow eggs, since their controversial research project started in January.

Lyle Armstrong, the project leader, told the BIO biotechnology conference in San Diego that the scientists were finding it easier than expected to make embryos for stem cell research, by replacing the nuclei of cow eggs with DNA from human skin cells.

Afterwards he told the Financial Times that about 270 embryos had already been produced in Newcastle through this process, which is designed to overcome the acute shortage of fresh human eggs for research.

"We might be able to get eight to 10 human oocytes [eggs] of sufficient quality per month," Dr Armstrong said. "We can get 200 cow eggs a day from the local meat industry."

No other research group in the world has spoken of producing hybrid embryos on this scale.

The project is part of an extensive global effort to find ways of making stem cells that can replace failing human tissues - and treat a wide...