Canada Closes Door on Cloning

[andyjackson1828]

Canada last week passed a bill that bans human cloning but permits research using stem cells derived from embryos -- research that scientists hope will lead to therapies for many of the worst human diseases.

The bill states that "No person shall knowingly create a human clone by using any technique," which would include therapeutic cloning, a technology researchers believe could lead to revolutionary treatments. The bill still requires "royal assent" from the governor general before it becomes law, but that is considered a formality.

"While it is commendable that Canada will ban reproductive cloning, they are off-base in prohibiting therapeutic cloning," said Bernard Siegel, president of the Genetics Policy Institute. "Some of their brightest scientists will be compelled to find labs elsewhere. Canada loses the opportunity to advance the potentially greatest medical advance of our time, one that promises understanding of mankind's worst afflictions and the regeneration of tissue without rejection."

Therapeutic cloning is based on the concept that the best way to get stem cells that are a perfect match for a patient -- thereby preventing immune rejection -- will be to create a clone of that patient, develop the embryo to around 100 cells, then remove the stem cells. Researchers consider the technique promising for treating spinal cord injuries and Alzheimer's disease.

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http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,62695,00.html