U.K. OKs therapeutic cloning research

The U.K. House of Commons on Tuesday voted 366 to 174 to allow researchers to conduct basic or applied research on serious diseases using human embryonic stem cells. Proposed research will require permission from a government regulator and will be subject to a number of limitations, including a stipulation that embryos used in research can be no more than 14 days old. Responding to concerns that the U.K. government has not done enough to ensure that scientists do not clone humans, Public Health Minister Yvette Cooper noted that reproductive cloning is prohibited by existing regulations, and she said the Labor government plans to introduce separate legislation in the future that would specifically prohibit the practice.

Cooper added that the new research authority is needed because of the "immense potential benefits of allowing this research to go ahead," including therapeutic cloning of tissues that could treat degenerative diseases. However, she noted that "adult stem cells are yet an alternative to embryonic stem cell research," and said that if advances with adult cells make embryonic stem cell research unnecessary, the government would stop authorizing embryo stem cell research. ...