UCI to attempt therapeutic cloning

UC Irvine will become one of the few centers in the world with a major program in therapeutic cloning, the controversial attempt to generate embryonic stem cells from people who suffer such afflictions as spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease.

Researchers believe it is possible to develop patient-specific treatments from the stem cells since the cells would likely be accepted by the donor's immune system. The technique has never been achieved in humans.

The research has stirred controversy because it involves harvesting stem cells from a surplus embryo, and because some people fear that it would lead to the cloning of humans. Federal law prohibits scientists from trying to use an embryo to clone a person.

"No sperm will be involved in any of this work," says Hans Keirstead, the neurobiologist who was given permission by the campus to try to create "stem cell lines that genetically match human patients … to better study conditions ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's."

Keirstead has worked on embryonic stem cells for seven years at UCI and succeeded in restoring movement in partially paralyzed...