Scientists allowed to experiment on Hybrid embryos

The scientists have a reason to rejoice as the government’s plans to ban the hybrid embryo experiments has received a major jolt from The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority. Scientists fighting a Government move to ban human-animal hybrid embryos were given new hope today by Britain's fertility regulator.

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) ruled that it had the power to grant permission for the experiments, and would follow the current law.

It will consider research applications only after the consultation exercise ends in the autumn. The Government has already consulted on the question but according to the HFEA a more thorough investigation is needed.

Scientists were dismayed by a Government White Paper published last month which proposed outlawing the creation of human-animal embryos, at least initially. Hybrid embryos, or chimeras, would give scientists a ready source of embryonic stem cells with which to carry out research.

Nuclei from human cells are transferred to the eggs of animals such as rabbits or cows whose own nuclear genetic material has been removed. The eggs are then stimulated to begin dividing. Eventually they become pin-head sized embryos which are more than 99% human.

The British Prime Minister Tony Blair though still said that he was not against the ban at all and the Government is "not dead set against" creating embryos that are part animal-part human.

Scientists involved in the research hope it will one day lead to treatments and cures for conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, motor neurone disease, diabetes and heart failure. This technology will only lead a better functioning of the research work that has immense potential to wed out the diseases that are degenerative.

They say using hybrid embryos can avoid the ethical objections to tampering with human life, and solve the problem of finding enough embryos to work with. Currently researchers have to rely on surplus embryos from in-vitro fertilisation treatment, or donated eggs.

The impetus that research shall get from this move to allow the use of hybrid embryo’s may see many more wonder stories coming up which will ultimately lead to path breaking successes or probably cures for various disorders presently which fail to be addressed by conventional treatments or whose research hits a roadblock due to lack of research freedom.