Two universities in England won approval yesterday to create embryos by mixing animal eggs with human DNA in order to create embryonic stem cells and to study diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority granted permission to researchers at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne and at King’s College London to generate embryos by inserting human DNA into eggs from rabbits, cows, and other mammals. The Guardian and the BBC have complete coverage.
In California, researchers at Stemagen Inc. announced yesterday that they had for the first time cloned a human embryo using a human egg and DNA from an adult cell. The Boston Globe and The Washington Post reported on the advance. —Richard Monastersky
