In the news

Following the recommendation by a House of Lords committee that embryonic stem cell research should be allowed to go ahead (see item in February 2002 newsletter), the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has issued the first licences for such research. At the Centre for Genome Research in Edinburgh, researchers will use early human embryos in studies aimed at developing new treatments for Parkinson’s disease. The focus of work at Guy’s Hospital in London will be to investigate whether the ability of an embryo to generate stem cells is linked to its viability; the aim eventually is to use this knowledge in the development of new treatments for infertility and recurrent miscarriage. A bank of embryonic stem cells will also be established in the UK by the end of 2002. Both projects licensed by the HFEA so far will use only surplus embryos from IVF treatments, not embryos produced by somatic cell nuclear replacement.