Human Cloning Foundation Hails Two Scientists for Growing Stem Cells Without Harming Embryos

The Human Cloning Foundation today hailed scientists Alexander Meissner and Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass. for providing the first definitive evidence that embryonic stem cells can be grown in laboratory dishes without harming healthy embryos.

"This development is a significant milestone in the area of stem cell research," said HCF spokesman David Madrigal. "It is also an important step that, hopefully, can bring about widespread acceptance of embryonic stem cell research, both ethically and politically."

According to the Washington Post, Meissner and Jaenisch created the altered embryos by disabling a gene called Cdx2 in a skin cell taken from a mouse. While the gene is not normally active in the skin, it governs the creation of the placenta during early embryo development and this allows a developing fetus to survive in the womb.

The Nature journal said the scientists "fused that cell with a mouse egg whose own genetic material had been removed — a now-commonplace cloning procedure that leads to the growth of an embryo in a lab dish."

Madrigal said stem cells from days-old human embryos can morph into virtually every kind of tissue. "If we can tap its vast medical potential, stem cell research can put an end to all kinds of degenerative diseases as well as aid people suffering from spinal injuries, infertility and heart attacks."

"If this approach can be successfully applied to human cells, it could put to rest the raging moral debate concerning embryonic stem cell research between scientists and ethicists," Madrigal added.

Contact:
Mr. David Madrigal
www.humancloning.org
humancloning.david@gmail.com