Human embryos cloned from scientists skin

A US company has announced that it has created cloned human embryos from adult skin cells, a breakthrough which could ultimately lead to the development of cures for Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's, and other untreatable ailments.

Stemagen Corp. of La Jolla, California, said its scientists used cloning technology to make five early-stage embryos, called blastocysts, from donated human eggs and skin cells from two men.

Samuel Wood, one of the key scientists, plucked cells from his skin and injected them into donated eggs that had been treated to remove their own genetic material.

While they did not make stem cells from their embryos — they were destroyed in the process of proving they were clones — company founder Dr. Wood says stem cells are his business plan.

"We believe that this is the future — to create patient-specific stem cells," Wood said in a telephone interview.

Stem cells are found throughout the body, renewing tissue and blood cells. Cells taken from very early human embryos — smaller than the head of a pin — can give rise to all the cells and tissues found in the human body.

Scientists hope to harness their power to transform medicine, to repair devastating injuries, replace the brain cells lost in Parkinson's disease, or to cure juvenile diabetes.

The best would be tailor-made, using a patient's own DNA.

But an influential minority of people and groups oppose their use in the United States because they believe it is wrong to destroy any human embryo.

They include President George W. Bush, who has vetoed legislation from Congress that would expand federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. That limits the work to a few academic labs that can juggle the complex requirements of the federal limits, and private companies.

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