Gina Miller writes "In Dispute Over Cloning Experiments Intensifies, The New York Times reported on the debate in the Senate, as of March 6, 2002, on a proposal to ban all human cloning, including therapeutic cloning (also called 'somatic cell nuclear transfer', or SCNT), in which nearly microscopic balls of a few hundred cells are produced to provide stem cells for medical treatments that might cure diseases that are today incurable. The total ban has already been passed by the House and is being pushed by Pres. Bush. Actor Christopher Reeve argued passionately that therapeutic cloning should go forward because '…we have a moral responsibility to help others. Time is absolutely critical.' Supporting Mr. Reeve was Nobel laureate molecular biologist Paul Berg and Jerry Zucker, a movie producer who hopes that therapeutic cloning will provide a cure for the diabetes his daughter suffers from. Proponents of a ban railed against 'human embryo hatcheries.' United Press International Opposition grows to total ban on cloning provides additional detail about the same Senate testimony, quoting Reeve 'I'm here today because I'm very concerned we're about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory … It is amazing to me that we have to be here today, because it's so clear that embryonic stem cells … are a miracle that could be available to us, yet there's a fear factor in this country that's really very disturbing to watch.'
A month later, as reported by Reuters on April 10 (Bush Backs Ban of All Human Cloning) and by The New York Times on April 11, 2002 (Bush Makes Fervent Bid to Get Senate to Ban Cloning Research) Bush urged the Senate to pass the bill outlawing all forms of cloning. A counter plea from 40 Nobel laureate scientists urged support of legislation that would allow therapeutic cloning."
Read more for an extensive set of links to background pieces on the developing debate over human cloning. Our update on human cloing from Gina Miller continues "While some members of Congress and Pres. Bush attempt to deny potential medical breakthroughs brought by SCNT to American patients, news from abroad claimed progress in reproductive cloning. From Reuters (April 6, 2002): Reports Say Italian Claims Success in Human Cloning. Without mentioning any technical details, the report states 'Severino Antinori made the announcement on Friday in the United Arab Emirates, noting that the pregnant woman was now in her eighth week.' However, in another article Reuters also reports Doubt and Shock Greet Cloning Pregnancy Report that many scientists are skeptical of the claim, and that Antinori subsequently refused to confirm or deny his original claim. Not only skeptical that the pregnancy is thw result of cloning, many scientists are angered that cloning was attempted because, with current technology, is very likely that any cloned person would suffer severe abnormalities. Confusion still reigned two days later (Confusion Reigns Over Cloning Pregnancy Report) because Antinori's original statement was vague, he has refused to clarify what has happened, and none of the details have been made available for scientific peer review.
While the claim of success in reproductive cloning remains dubious, and controversy rages over the use medical use of embryonic stem cells, recent research has provided promising hints that adult stems cells might be used in tissue regeneration. An article on March 7, 2002 in The New York Times (Study Expands Range of Stem Cell Abilities) reports that adult stem cells from bone marrow can not only regenerate the blood supply, as was well known, but can also lead to partial regeneration in the skin, liver, and gut. The discovery was made with female bone marrow transplant patients who received donor bone marrow from a male relative. Tissue samples taken from the skin, liver, and gut of the patients showed that some of the cells had male-specific Y chromosomes, indicating that stem cells in the donor bone marrow had partially repopulated those tissues. Said one expert 'It suggests there may be a repair mechanism that goes on throughout life but is insufficient in major disease. If we could amplify this mechanism it could become a whole new form of medicine based on using the body's own cells to treat disease.' Scientsts have already found one tool that might help make better use of bone marrow stem cells: injecting a person with a natural growth factor called GCSF causes the bone marrow to export increased quantities of stem cells into the circulation. Although use of adult stem cells might provide an alternative therapy acceptable to those who oppose use of SCNT, many scientists who work on adult stem cells also support continued research on embryonic stem cells. Said one expert, 'Research on embryonic stem cells is critical to advances in this area'.
While work with adult stem cells progresses, a press release from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research announced a major advance toward demonstrating the potential of therapeutic cloning (also called SCNT) to cure disease (Scientists Combine Therapeutic Cloning, Embryonic Stem Cells, and Gene Therapy to Correct a Genetic Defect in Mice). Before this demonstration, scientists had used SCNT to create embryonic stem cells, and made those cells differentiate in culture into tissue cells, but had not shown that those cells could cure disease when re-introduced into an animal. One of the researchers (Rudolf Jaenisch) remarked 'This is a proof-of-principle experiment, which shows that nuclear transplantation therapy may be possible for human application. Furthermore, it shows that gene therapy can be incorporated into the approach to correct genetic mutations in defective cells without affecting the germ line.' The researchers first created embryonic stem cells from a skin cell of an adult mouse with a genetic immune deficiency disease, then used gene therapy to correct the genetic deficiency in the stem cells, then introduced a second gene called HoxB4 that allowed the stem cells to proliferate to form blood cell precursors, which were then introduced into adult mice suffering from the genetic immune deficiency disease, partially rescuing the immune systems in those mice. This web page also contains a number of useful links to background and related material. United Press International (Scientists attempt customizing stem cells) and The New York Times (Therapeutic Cloning Shown to Work, at Least in Mice) also reported the research, providing additional details and perspective.
In Dispute Over Cloning Experiments Intensifies, The New York Times reported on the debate in the Senate, as of March 6, 2002, on a proposal to ban all human cloning, including therapeutic cloning (also called 'somatic cell nuclear transfer', or SCNT), in which nearly microscopic balls of a few hundred cells are produced to provide stem cells for medical treatments that might cure diseases that are today incurable. The total ban has already been passed by the House and is being pushed by Pres. Bush. Actor Christopher Reeve argued passionately that therapeutic cloning should go forward because '…we have a moral responsibility to help others. Time is absolutely critical.' Supporting Mr. Reeve was Nobel laureate molecular biologist Paul Berg and Jerry Zucker, a movie producer who hopes that therapeutic cloning will provide a cure for the diabetes his daughter suffers from. Proponents of a ban railed against 'human embryo hatcheries.' United Press International Opposition grows to total ban on cloning provides additional detail about the same Senate testimony, quoting Reeve 'I'm here today because I'm very concerned we're about to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory … It is amazing to me that we have to be here today, because it's so clear that embryonic stem cells … are a miracle that could be available to us, yet there's a fear factor in this country that's really very disturbing to watch.'
A month later, as reported by Reuters on April 10 (Bush Backs Ban of All Human Cloning) and by The New York Times on April 11, 2002 (Bush Makes Fervent Bid to Get Senate to Ban Cloning Research) Bush urged the Senate to pass the bill outlawing all forms of cloning. A counter plea from 40 Nobel laureate scientists urged support of legislation that would allow therapeutic cloning.
While some members of Congress and Pres. Bush attempt to deny potential medical breakthroughs brought by SCNT to American patients, news from abroad claimed progress in reproductive cloning. From Reuters (April 6, 2002): Reports Say Italian Claims Success in Human Cloning. Without mentioning any technical details, the report states 'Severino Antinori made the announcement on Friday in the United Arab Emirates, noting that the pregnant woman was now in her eighth week.' However, in another article Reuters also reports Doubt and Shock Greet Cloning Pregnancy Report that many scientists are skeptical of the claim, and that Antinori subsequently refused to confirm or deny his original claim. Not only skeptical that the pregnancy is the result of cloning, many scientists are angered that cloning was attempted because, with current technology, is very likely that any cloned person would suffer severe abnormalities. Confusion still reigned two days later (Confusion Reigns Over Cloning Pregnancy Report) because Antinori's original statement was vague, he has refused to clarify what has happened, and none of the details have been made available for scientific peer review.
While the claim of success in reproductive cloning remains dubious, and controversy rages over the use medical use of embryonic stem cells, recent research has provided promising hints that adult stems cells might be used in tissue regeneration. An article on March 7 2002 in The New York Times (Study Expands Range of Stem Cell Abilities) reports that adult stem cells from bone marrow can not only regenerate the blood supply, as was well known, but can also lead to partial regeneration in the skin, liver, and gut. The discovery was made with female bone marrow transplant patients who received donor bone marrow from a male relative. Tissue samples taken from the skin, liver, and gut of the patients showed that some of the cells had male-specific Y chromosomes, indicating that stem cells in the donor bone marrow had partially repopulated those tissues. Said one expert 'It suggests there may be a repair mechanism that goes on throughout life but is insufficient in major disease. If we could amplify this mechanism it could become a whole new form of medicine based on using the body's own cells to treat disease.' Scientsts have already found one tool that might help make better use of bone marrow stem cells: injecting a person with a natural growth factor called GCSF causes the bone marrow to export increased quantities of stem cells into the circulation. Although use of adult stem cells might provide an alternative therapy acceptable to those who oppose use of SCNT, many scientists who work on adult stem cells also support continued research on embryonic stem cells. Said one expert, 'Research on embryonic stem cells is critical to advances in this area'.
While work with adult stem cells progresses, a press release from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research announced a major advance toward demonstrating the potential of therapeutic cloning (also called SCNT) to cure disease (Scientists Combine Therapeutic Cloning, Embryonic Stem Cells, and Gene Therapy to Correct a Genetic Defect in Mice). Before this demonstration, scientists had used SCNT to create embryonic stem cells, and made those cells differentiate in culture into tissue cells, but had not shown that those cells could cure disease when re-introduced into an animal. One of the researchers (Rudolf Jaenisch) remarked 'This is a proof-of-principle experiment, which shows that nuclear transplantation therapy may be possible for human application. Furthermore, it shows that gene therapy can be incorporated into the approach to correct genetic mutations in defective cells without affecting the germ line.' The researchers first created embryonic stem cells from a skin cell of an adult mouse with a genetic immune deficiency disease, then used gene therapy to correct the genetic deficiency in the stem cells, then introduced a second gene called HoxB4 that allowed the stem cells to proliferate to form blood cell precursors, which were then introduced into adult mice suffering from the genetic immune deficiency disease, partially rescuing the immune systems in those mice. This web page also contains a number of useful links to background and related material. United Press International (Scientists attempt customizing stem cells) and The New York Times (Therapeutic Cloning Shown to Work, at Least in Mice) also reported the research, providing additional details and perspective."
