Britain granted its first license for human cloning Wednesday, joining South Korea on the leading edge of stem cell research, which is restricted in the U.S., and which many scientists believe may lead to new treatments for a range of diseases.
The British license went to Newcastle University researchers who hope to create insulin-producing cells that could be transplanted into diabetics.
South Korean scientists announced in February they had cloned an embryo and extracted the stem cells from it.
Many scientists believe stem cells hold promise for treating an array of diseases. Stem cells can potentially grow into any type of human tissue and scientists hope to be able to direct the blank cells to grow into specific cell types needed for transplant.
Scientists envision using cloning to create an embryo from a patient so that the stem cells would be a perfect match.
