As a result of recent efforts, scientists in Massachusetts are now able to clone human embryos. The news of the discovery has created a media frenzy, giving the cloning issue its biggest surge in publicity since Sept. 11. Despite this discovery, however, many experts say that it bears little or no scientific impact, and that no new ground has been broken in the field.Genetics research group Advanced Cell Technology made the discovery. They had been working for nearly a year, experimenting by combining skin cells with female eggs stripped of their original genetic material. After much experimentation, the combination of the eggs and the cells created live embryos.

Michael West, the chief executive of ACT, made the announcement on Sunday, Nov. 26. He repeatedly explained that the main goal of the research is not to create human clones, but rather to simply clone an embryo, for a few days. He went on to explain how they would extract the embryonic stem cells from the embryos. These stem cells have the ability to grow into any type of human tissue. This is called therapeutic cloning.

The medical implications are hard to miss. With these types of cells, it may be possible to regenerate new healthy organs for people with failing livers, kidneys and other vitals.

In West’s statement on Sunday, he said, “Human therapeutic cloning could be used for a host of age-related diseases.”
ACT’s claims for discovery have recently come under fire from many prominent rival scientists, in the field. Many call ACT’s claims exaggerated and premature, on account of the fact that the embryos they produced only went as far as the six-cell stage. Typically, an embryo must have at least a few hundred cells before it can give rise to any stem cells.

Kevin Wilson, spokesperson for the American Society for Cell Biology, commented on the discovery. “There really is a long way to go to get from what they did to where they want to go,” he said.

Stem cell researcher John Gearhart went on to elaborate. “There are ways that you can stimulate eggs and get these kinds of [results] that aren’t a big deal. The fact is they stopped – they do not go any further. Do you call this thing an embryo?” he said.
James Robl, a former stem cell researcher at the University of Massachusetts, agreed. “It’s not a big deal,” he said.

Despite an apparent feeling of disappointment in the scientific community, many still feel resolved to make the final breakthrough, one that will be accepted by the entire community as a whole. Therapeutic cloning is widely known throughout the scientific community as an extremely advantageous form of organ transplant.

“The advantage of using cloning technology to get embryos as sources of stem cells would be to allow a patient to be his or her own source of transplant tissue or even organs, providing tailor-made treatments,” said Curt Freed of the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
One of the biggest problems today with organ transplants is the fear of rejection by the immune system. Therapeutic cloning negates the whole problem.

“The reason for developing human cloned embryos … would be to produce cells that would specifically be designed for an individual,” Freed said.

Therefore, despite the apparently false hopes offered by ACT, scientists remain resolved to figure out everything they need to in order to make the discovery of a lifetime. “It is a worthwhile scientific goal,” said Freed.