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Thursday, January 21, 2010

First cloned human embryo created from skin cell

This appears to be a major breakthrough. Even though the egg in questions was never actually fertilized, it is still an embryo, which means it could conceivably be born. So the right-to-lifers are not gonna be on board with this. Though, the fact that the embryo is a clone of the donor does add an interesting variable. The embryo in this case is not a separate organism in the same sense that an embryo taken from a fertility clinic is. It is made from the donor's DNA and no joining of egg and sperm was involved. Bioethicists sure have their work cut out for them these days.

As an aside, if stem cell therapies result in dramatically increased lifespans or dramatically decreased morbidity, how will this affect the planet? If people continue to reproduce at the same rate, but fewer die, will the population increase exponentially? Will only the wealthy or those in wealthy countries have access to the therapies? Will it lead to increased or decreased costs of healthcare, thus either draining our resources further or freeing them up for other things?

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