Using a technique that may provide an alternative to therapeutic cloning, researchers created a monkey embryo without the use of sperm to make stem cells that then turned into heart, brain and other specialized tissue.
In a study outlined Friday in the journal Science, a research team led by Dr. Michael West of Advanced Cell Technology reports using chemicals to cause a monkey egg to turn into an embryo, an asexual process called parthenogenesis.
The scientists then extracted stem cells from the embryo and made specialized cells.
“These were fully developed cells that could have been used medically,” said West.
Advanced Cell Technology sparked criticism in November after announcing it had cloned a human embryo that was allowed to grow to six cells.
West said that the study demonstrates it may be possible to make human embryonic stem cells through parthenogenesis.
He said he believes that making embryos through parthenogenesis may bypass ethical objections toward therapeutic cloning, a technique aimed at making specialized cells to treat ailing hearts, diseased brains or to cure diseases.
