The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Renowned Scientists Forgo Cloning, Embryo Destruction for New Research

By Doug Carlson - Jan 15, 2008 - 1

The researcher who was the first to isolate embryonic stem cells is abandoning that method. In likewise fashion, the scientist responsible for cloning Dolly the sheep is giving up on his technique. These pioneers in the field of bioengineering are joined by many others who are turning to a new method of stem cell research that holds several advantages over embryo-destructive research, including its avoidance of ethical problems, in the quest to treat diseases.

In quick succession late last year, three separate teams of researchers heralded their breakthrough, demonstrating that embryonic-like stem cells can be produced from human cells without creating or cloning an embryo. Through a process known as direct reprogramming, three or four genes are added to cells derived from humans to produce what are known as induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPS cells, which are functionally equivalent to stem cells taken from human embryos.

Over the past several years, many have lauded research on embryonic stem cells over adult, or non-embryonic, stem cells due to their unique pluripotency, meaning they can develop into all the different cell types in the body.

But research using IPS cells now matches that distinction and holds several advantages over embryonic stem cells and cloning. The greatest advantage is that, unlike research with embryos or cloning, IPS cell research does not require creating or taking innocent human life. Also, IPS cells are readily available in large numbers. Through a simple and relatively painless biopsy on about 1/10 of an inch of skin, researchers can convert 10 or more cell lines to an embryonic-like state, making them genetically identical to the donor. In addition, IPS cells do not require use of women’s eggs, a dangerous requirement for cloning.

While the IPS cells’ embryonic-like qualities make them susceptible to some of the same hurdles as embryonic stem cells, such as tumor formation, IPS cells hold the moral and scientific lines, making embryo-destructive research unnecessary.

Dr. James Thomson, who in 1998 earned world recognition for isolating human embryonic stem cells, and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, a Japanese professor and researcher, detailed their earthshaking IPS cell research separately in scientific journals last November. One month later, a group from Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital unveiled similar successful research.

The breakthrough has prompted Dr. Thomson, along with Dr. Ian Wilmut, the researcher made famous for cloning Dolly the sheep, to abandon their controversial forms of research. Even President Clinton’s bioethics commission, in 1999, indicated that such a discovery should lead researchers to lay aside embryo-destructive research, declaring, “In our judgment, the derivation of stem cells from embryos remaining following infertility treatments is justifiable only if no less morally problematic alternatives are available for advancing the research.”

But even as the world’s premier scientists are abandoning embryo-destructive research efforts, it is almost certain that a sizeable liberal chorus in Congress will continue its refrain that embryonic stem cells hold the promise to cure Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and a host of other ailments.

As part of the House’s first 100 hours last year, under the leadership of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Congress passed legislation to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, although President Bush quickly wielded his veto pen on the measure for the second time in as many years. Undoubtedly, some in Congress are preparing to once again advocate for embryo-destructive stem cell research in 2008.

The IPS cell findings are a welcome addition to the successes of ethical adult, or non-embryonic, stem cell research, which has treated over 70 ailments, and come as a blow to embryo-destructive research, which has yielded no results. Congress should take the queue of some of the world’s foremost scientists and abandon morally irresponsible research on embryos in pursuit of those methods that hold the ethical line.

For further reading on induced pluripotent stem cells:

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: An Amazing Breakthrough in the Scientific Debate.

Further Learning

Learn more about: Life, Cloning, Stem-Cell Research, Science

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