
A donor egg held by pipette prior to nuclear extraction at the start of the radical new process: The breakthrough could lead to customised cells to help treat and even cure a range of diseases.
While human embryos have been cloned before, none have had healthy stem cells extracted from them. The latest advance means scientists are now even closer to being able to clone children. The US team behind the work stress that they want to find treatments for incurable diseases – but critics fear there is little to stop a rogue scientist from copying their work to try to clone humans. Dr David King, founder of the campaign group Human Genetics Alert, called for an international ban on human cloning and said it was ‘irresponsible in the extreme’ to have published details of the stem-cell technique. The world first was achieved at Oregon Health and Science University, with a technique similar to the one used to clone Dolly the sheep.

Developing cloned human embryos prior to harvesting for stem cells. Dr Shoukhrat Mitalipov has spent many years refining the technique, which involves feeding the eggs caffeine at a key point in the process.
Using a sliver of the patient’s skin at the start of the process would ensure that stem cells would be a perfect match for their body. This would raise the odds of the treatment being successful, and remove the need for powerful drugs to suppress the patient’s immune system. Tailor-made cells could also be used to learn more about a person’s illness, and test drugs to find those that work best. Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, said Dr Mitalipov’s work, detailed in the journal Cell, looked like ‘the real deal’. Dr Paul De Sousa, of Edinburgh University, said that improving our understanding of women’s eggs could lead to new treatments for infertility. However, other scientists warned that the new research brings us closer to babies being cloned to order. A stem cell colony developed through the new method: Using a sliver of the patients skin at the start of the process would ensure the cells are a perfect match for their body, raising the odds of the treatment's success
Using a sliver of the patient’s skin at the start of the process would ensure that stem cells would be a perfect match for their body. This would raise the odds of the treatment being successful, and remove the need for powerful drugs to suppress the patient’s immune system. Tailor-made cells could also be used to learn more about a person’s illness, and test drugs to find those that work best. Chris Mason, a professor of regenerative medicine at University College London, said Dr Mitalipov’s work, detailed in the journal Cell, looked like ‘the real deal’. Dr Paul De Sousa, of Edinburgh University, said that improving our understanding of women’s eggs could lead to new treatments for infertility. However, other scientists warned that the new research brings us closer to babies being cloned to order. A stem cell colony developed through the new method: Using a sliver of the patients skin at the start of the process would ensure the cells are a perfect match for their body, raising the odds of the treatment's success
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