Cloning creator ends embryo use
The pioneer of the method which created Dolly the sheep has said he is going to try a new approach to research
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Published by Gibson Square, out November 15th, 204 pages, £12. |  |
Saturday, 17, Nov 2007 10:07
The British scientist who led efforts to create the world's first cloned sheep has said that he is considering new research methods.
Professor Ian Wilmut gained worldwide fame for creating Dolly in 1996 through the controversial use of embryos.
The researcher told the Daily Telegraph that he would now use a different method that was "easier to accept socially" and was potentially more effective in creating stem cells.
Stem cells are special cells that can become any cell in the body and are considered key to fighting disease through genetic means.
The pioneer of the new approach to cloning is Professor Shinya Yamanaka at Kyoto University, Japan, who uses skin fragments in the cloning process rather than embryos.
Professor Wilmut, who has been criticised by religious groups for his work, has called the new research development "extremely exciting and astonishing".
He told the paper: "I decided a few weeks ago not to pursue nuclear transfer [the method by which Dolly the Sheep was cloned],"
"Before too long, we will be able to use the Yamanaka approach to achieve the same, without making embryos," he said.