Cells gain youth via cloning

Advanced Cell Technology on Thursday published in Science the apparent "reversal of cellular aging" in somatic cow cells using nuclear transfer cloning.

While the public may be riveted on the idea that the technology somehow has tapped into a fountain of youthful cells, the research may have more practical benefits for use in a variety of cell therapies. However, the technology also will add to the ethical debate over cloning technology, as it does require cloning of a patient's cells, creation of an embryo from those cells, and harvesting of cells from that embryo. Indeed, the company already is fashioning an argument that its approach uses cells in a "pre-embryonic" state. ...