EDITORIAL – Lions and tigers and clones, oh my

What do you get when you cross a cow and a human?

Anyone?

Answer: Yet another example of… What do you get when you cross a cow and a human?

Anyone?

Answer: Yet another example of how restrictions on scientific advancement can lead to unexpected consequences.

Researchers in the United Kingdom are proposing interspecies cloning as an alternative to using human eggs for stem cell research. According to the Associated Press, researchers hope to insert DNA from ailing humans – suffering from diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s – into animal eggs that have been stripped of their genetic material. After being fused with the human DNA, the eggs would hopefully be tricked into thinking they were pregnant. After five days of growth the embryo would be destroyed, but not before stem cells were extracted.

The stem cells would allow them to study the development of diseases, according to Stephen Minger, the director of the Stem Cell Laboratory at King’s College in London.

“You can model Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease in a dish,” Minger said in the AP article.

To many, the thought of combining human DNA with animal eggs – even if they have been completely stripped of their genetic material- is horrific. But it isn’t the first time this debate has arisen. Jose Cibelli, a Michigan State University researcher, found himself embroiled in a hot mess of ethical debate 10 years ago when he combined his own DNA with that of a cow. Though his interspecies cloning research was ultimately abandoned, researchers today are revisiting the idea because of a shortage of human eggs available for stem cell research.

“Getting eggs from women is the bottleneck to cloning,” Cibelli told the AP. “An alternate would be welcomed.”

The only thing opponents of interspecies cloning have to blame is the people fighting to destroy stem cell research. President Bush says that he wants the United States to be at the forefront of science and technology. Yet, he banned federal funding for most research in the field. It’s incredibly possible that stem cell research is going to lead us to the next big developments in fighting and curing diseases. Unfortunately for everyone suffering from life-threatening diseases, narrow views of science are going to keep us from making those discoveries.

It’s sad that researchers have been pushed into a corner like this, but we’re hopeful that the United Kingdom will grant the researchers licenses to explore this avenue into stem cell research. Ultimately, governments need to realize the potential of stem cell research and encourage research with human eggs.