NEWS: "Embryo Cloning Breakthrough"

From: J Corbally (icorb@indigo.ie)
Date: Sun Nov 25 2001 - 15:19:40 MST


This on the BBC website. Also gets a mention on Sky News (In between
visits to the "War Wall");

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1675000/1675602.stm

>A United States company says it has cloned a human embryo in a
>breakthrough experiment.
>It is the first time anyone has reported successfully carrying out the
>procedure.
>Our intention is not to create cloned human beings, but rather to make
>life-saving therapies for a wide range of human disease conditions
>Robert Lanza, ACT
>The company, Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) is stressing that its aim is
>to use the embryo as a source of stem cells - not to create a human being.

Apparently they can do this as they are privately funded, and so not
subject to the tight restrictions introduced by the Bush Administration.

>"Scientifically, biologically, the entities we are creating are not
>individuals. They're only cellular life. They're not human life," said
>Michael West, ACT chief executive officer.

Doubt the pro-lifers/anti-cloners will see it that way.

Regards,

James....
"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and
crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures
to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
-Q, Star Trek:TNG episode 'Q Who'



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