Britain Approves Use of Hybrid Human-Animal Embryos for Stem Cell Research
By AP,
Associated Press
| 10. 22. 2008
LONDON (AP) British plans to allow scientists to use hybrid animal-human embryos for stem cell research won final approval from lawmakers Wednesday in a sweeping overhaul of sensitive science laws. The House of Commons also clarified laws that allow the screening of embryos to produce babies with suitable bone marrow or other material for transplant to sick siblings.
It was the first review of embryo science in Britain in almost 20 years.
The legislators voted 355 to 129 to authorize the proposals after months of sometimes bitter debate that has pitted Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government and scientists against religious leaders, anti-abortion campaigners and others anxious about medical advances.
Brown says he believes scientists seeking to use mixed animal-human embryos for stem cell research into diseases such as Parkinson's will help improve - and save - millions of lives.
Decisions by Britain's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority, an independent body which regulates fertility and embryo research in the U.K., to allow the practice have previously been vulnerable to challenges in court.
While Britain has been seen as a world leader...
Related Articles
By Jessica Mouzo, El País | 10.03.2025
DNA is the molecule of life: this double-helix structure, present in every cell in the body and organized into fragments called genes, stores the instructions for making organisms function. It is a highly precise biological machine, but sometimes it breaks...
By Aleks Krotoski, The Guardian | 09.28.2025
Imagine you’re the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world. You have everything you could want at your disposal: power, influence, money. But, the problem is, your time at the top is fleeting. I’m not...
By Jeffrey Gettleman and Maya Tekeli, The New York Times | 09.24.2025
For some Greenlanders, sorry isn’t enough.
The prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, made a special visit Wednesday to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, to apologize in person for a traumatic chapter in Greenlandic history, when Danish doctors forced birth control on...
GeneWatch UK has prepared a briefing on the genetic modification of nature for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress in October 2025
The upcoming Congress claims to be “where the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action.” A major concern for those on the outside is that the Congress may advance plans to develop and encourage the use of synthetic biology in nature conservation. This could at first glance sound like...