Embryonic stem cells: Advance in medical human cloning

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22540374

[quote[Human cloning has been used to produce early embryos, marking a "significant step" for medicine, say US scientists.

The cloned embryos were used as a source of stem cells, which can make new heart muscle, bone, brain tissue or any other type of cell in the body.

The study, published in the journal Cell, used methods like those that produced Dolly the sheep in the UK.

However, researchers say other sources of stem cells may be easier, cheaper and less controversial.[/quote]

[KichigaiNeko]

Shot in the arm for mission to take stem cells from embryos
Date
May 16, 2013

Nicky Phillips

''Our finding offers new ways of generating stem cells for patients with dysfunctional or damaged tissues and organs,'' said study leader Shoukhrat Mitalipov, of the Oregon Health & Science University. ''Such stem cells can regenerate and replace those damaged cells and tissues and alleviate diseases that affect millions of people.''
The chairman of stem cell sciences at the University of Melbourne, Martin Pera, said this new method also offered a unique approach to preventing inherited mitochondrial diseases, which cause debilitating degeneration in the brain and heart of affected individuals.
The discovery is published in the prestigious journal Cell.
Until now, researchers have only been able to grow human embryonic stem cells from surplus IVF embryos, which are not a genetic match with the recipient.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-...z2TRCI2MUt