Aggregated News
Scientists who created Dolly the sheep, the world's first cloned mammal, have applied for a licence to clone human embryos to obtain stem cells for research into Motor Neurone Disease.
Professor Ian Wilmut, of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, hopes to study how the paralysing illness -- also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease -- develops, with a view to finding an effective treatment.
"We believe it will produce entirely new opportunities to study Motor Neurone Disease," he told a news conference on Tuesday.
If the licence is approved by cloning watchdog the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), it will be the second granted for the controversial research, which has incited fierce ethical debate because it involves creating human embryos which can be mined for their stem cells.
A team of scientists from Newcastle University were granted a licence in August to clone human embryos to develop new treatments for diabetes and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
"This is not reproductive cloning in any way," said Professor Christopher Saw, of the Institute of...
Professor Ian Wilmut, of the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, hopes to study how the paralysing illness -- also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease -- develops, with a view to finding an effective treatment.
"We believe it will produce entirely new opportunities to study Motor Neurone Disease," he told a news conference on Tuesday.
If the licence is approved by cloning watchdog the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), it will be the second granted for the controversial research, which has incited fierce ethical debate because it involves creating human embryos which can be mined for their stem cells.
A team of scientists from Newcastle University were granted a licence in August to clone human embryos to develop new treatments for diabetes and degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
"This is not reproductive cloning in any way," said Professor Christopher Saw, of the Institute of...