Lab successfully clones human embryos
Published: Jan. 17, 2008 at 9:04 PM
LA JOLLA, Calif., Jan. 17 (UPI) -- A U.S. laboratory said it is the first to create and document a cloned human embryo using somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Stemagen, a private research lab in La Jolla, Calif., said five blastocysts were developed from 25 donated mature oocytes. Three were confirmed to be clones based on DNA fingerprinting demonstrating the presence of the skin cell donor DNA in the blastocyst, while one was further confirmed to be a clone by an additional mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis which revealed the presence of oocyte donor mtDNA without any oocyte donor nuclear DNA.
Cloned blastocysts were successfully created from approximately 10 percent of all mature donated oocytes, an unexpectedly high rate given past research in this field, the company said Thursday in a release.
The research was published in the journal Stem Cells.
Stemagen CEO Dr. Samuel H. Wood, donor of the cells from which the embryos were cloned, called the achievement "a critical milestone in the development of patient-specific embryonic stem cells for human therapeutic use, potentially including developing treatments for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases."
Stemagen, a private research lab in La Jolla, Calif., said five blastocysts were developed from 25 donated mature oocytes. Three were confirmed to be clones based on DNA fingerprinting demonstrating the presence of the skin cell donor DNA in the blastocyst, while one was further confirmed to be a clone by an additional mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis which revealed the presence of oocyte donor mtDNA without any oocyte donor nuclear DNA.
Cloned blastocysts were successfully created from approximately 10 percent of all mature donated oocytes, an unexpectedly high rate given past research in this field, the company said Thursday in a release.
The research was published in the journal Stem Cells.
Stemagen CEO Dr. Samuel H. Wood, donor of the cells from which the embryos were cloned, called the achievement "a critical milestone in the development of patient-specific embryonic stem cells for human therapeutic use, potentially including developing treatments for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other degenerative diseases."
© 2008 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
In this image from NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft, Cyclone Nargis is pictured when it was a Category one hurricane located 370 miles west of Yangon, Myanmar on May 1, 2008. Tropical Cyclone Nargis flooded the region on May 4, 2008. The death toll from the cyclone and its aftermath is feared to hit or exceed 100,000 lives. (UPI Photo/NASA/MODIS Rapid Response Team)
NASA satellite images show Tropical Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar
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