Scientists in America have successfully undertaken a procedure reported by some to be a step towards human cloning, it was announced yesterday.
The US researchers say they have merely been successful in producing human embryonic stem cells, using DNA taken from skin cells.
And they say they have not created fertilised human embryos.
The project, reported in Cell, was undertaken at Oregon Health Sciences University.
The scientists transplanted the nucleus of a human skin cell into an egg cell, with genetic material removed.
This led to the egg developing and producing stem cells.
Researcher Dr Shoukhrat Mitalipov said: "While there is much work to be done in developing safe and effective stem cell treatments, we believe this is a significant step forward in developing the cells that could be used in regenerative medicine.
"A thorough examination of the stem cells derived through this technique demonstrated their ability to convert just like normal embryonic stem cells, into several different cell types, including nerve cells, liver cells and heart cells."
The researchers say there is no evidence their technique could be used successfully to produce human clones. Trials on monkeys over the years have been unsuccessful.
Dr Mitalipov added: "Our research is directed toward generating stem cells for use in future treatments to combat disease.
"While nuclear transfer breakthroughs often lead to a public discussion about the ethics of human cloning, this is not our focus, nor do we believe our findings might be used by others to advance the possibility of human reproductive cloning."
Cell 15 May 2013 doi:10.1016/j.cell.2013.05.006 [abstract]
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