“Hybrid” Stem Cells Worry Pro-Lifers in New Scientific Developments

Scientists in the US have revealed they have found a new controversial way of creating embryonic stem cells, by creating a ‘hybrid’ version from skin cells.

Amid the huge debate that has arisen regarding stem cell research, a Harvard University team has been successful in fusing lab-grown embryonic cells with adult cells, thus creating a new stem cell, reported BBC news.

The scientific researchers have stated their belief that the new hybrid cells could allow medical research into tackling diseases to continue without the need for using real human embryos.

However, UK stem cell experts have been sceptical, and were reported by the BBC as saying that the hybrid stem cells were not a perfect match.

Many scientists have been excited by recent advances in the field, and are hoping that one day the technology could be used to treat various diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease and diabetes.

However, the huge strides forwards by a number of teams across the globe have stirred concerns regarding ethical values of cloning and stem cell research. The destroying of real human embryos in particular has been a major ethical matter that has worried pro-life and Christian groups.

The authors reported to the BBC, “The hybrid cells had the appearance, growth rate, and several key genetic characteristics of human embryonic cells. They also behaved like embryonic cells, differentiating into cells from each of the three main tissue types that form in a developing embryo.”

Also that the new technique “may circumvent some of the logistical and societal concerns” that have hampered research.

However, even the scientists admitted that the technique would not be able to be used in research for years.

Pro-life groups have argued vigorously that it is entirely unethical to create human embryos for stem cell research and simply to destroy and dispose of them once they have served their research-purposes.

The new method will use existing stem cells to re-programme a skin cell. However, UK Professor Ian Wilmut, the scientist that cloned Dolly the sheep, said that the newly generated cells contained twice the normal chromosomes, and currently there was no way to remove the unnecessary ones.

Wilmut told the BBC, “The important use of this approach is to study the mechanisms that cause a cell to change from one type to another, the process that involves `nuclear reprogramming'.”

However, he did state his view that current techniques should be continued for disease research.

Professor Ian Wilmut of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute was granted a licence to perform therapeutic cloning of human embryos from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). He has planned to perform the cloning of human embryos so that stem cells can be yielded to investigate a cure for muscle-wasting illnesses.

In May, while both England and Korea have made ground-breaking achievements in human cloning, a deep worry has been raised among pro-lifers who say that cloning could potentially become a global crisis leading to a slippery slope over bioethics.