Scientists in Newcastle have created Britain's first human-animal hybrid embryo in an effort to develop new stem cell treatments.
The scientists combined human genetic information with a cow egg cell producing a hybrid embryo that was 99.9% human, 0.1% cow. The embryos survived for 3 days in a test tube.
The ultimate aim is to be able to create embryos that survive for 6 days so that stem cells can be harvested which can be grown into mature tissue.
Professor Colin Blakemore, the former head of the Medical Research Council (MRC), said: "These preliminary reports give hope that this approach is likely to provide stem cells for research without the use of human eggs or normal human embryos. The new Bill is intended to confirm the arrangements for regulation of this important area of research."
The Catholic Church has described the research as monstrous and is bitterly opposed to it on the basis that it meddles with nature.
The Prime Minister is under increasing pressure to grant a free vote on the controversial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which will allow widespread development of human hybrid embryos for research purposes.
The scientists combined human genetic information with a cow egg cell producing a hybrid embryo that was 99.9% human, 0.1% cow. The embryos survived for 3 days in a test tube.
The ultimate aim is to be able to create embryos that survive for 6 days so that stem cells can be harvested which can be grown into mature tissue.
Professor Colin Blakemore, the former head of the Medical Research Council (MRC), said: "These preliminary reports give hope that this approach is likely to provide stem cells for research without the use of human eggs or normal human embryos. The new Bill is intended to confirm the arrangements for regulation of this important area of research."
The Catholic Church has described the research as monstrous and is bitterly opposed to it on the basis that it meddles with nature.
The Prime Minister is under increasing pressure to grant a free vote on the controversial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, which will allow widespread development of human hybrid embryos for research purposes.
