“ETHICAL” STEM CELLS FOUND?
Researchers at the University of Milan claim to have created embryonic stem cells without embryos, leading to hopes that they can be created “ethically”. Their solution is to extract stem cells from parthenotes, embryo-like structures which develop without fertilisation. In humans, these can never develop into true embryos, but they can survive long enough to yield stem cells. The process is unlikely to quench the demand for conventional ESCs. But it could be useful in countries with restrictions on embryo research, such as the US. Australian researcher Alan Trounson said that it was exciting news, but that more work was needed to prove that they were actually ESCs, as they did not display all characteristics as expected.
Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.
Latest posts by Michael Cook (see all)
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
Mortality rates for American kids are rising for the first time in 50 years
US President Joe Biden is so concerned about the future of American children that he inserted a mandate for affordable...
Will Pope Francis be composted?
Will Pope Francis be composted instead of buried in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome with his predecessors? It’s unlikely. But...
The virtues and the vices of the outrageous
A Norwegian bioethicist, Anna Smajdor, recently set out a case for “Whole Body Gestational Donation” – using the wombs of...
More than 200 people have been treated with experimental CRISPR therapies
Scientists believe that CRISPR gene editing technologies will transform medicine. But how many people have been treated so far? According...
Asia-Pacific IVF market could reach US$46 billion by 2031
According to a market survey by Allied Market Research, IVF is booming in the Asia-Pacific region. The market size was...
Third global summit on human genome editing: Moving on after the He experiment
The much anticipated Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing was held in London earlier this month to explore the...
