Scientists at Newcastle University have created human-animal hybrid embryos for the first time in the UK, an initial step in efforts to create stem cells for investigation and treatment of conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority issued one year licences to research teams at Newcastle and London in January of this year, after an extensive public consultation.

The embryos were produced by injecting DNA from human skin cells into cow egg ‘shells’ from which almost all of the genetic material had been removed. The embryos survived for three days, until they contained 32 cells. The next step will be to grow the embryos for six days, when it may be possible to extract stem cells from them.

The research is still preliminary and has not yet undergone peer review scrutiny prior to publication.

Dr Sophie Petit-Zeman, Head of External Relations at the Association of Medical Research Charities said:

“For the last year, we have been working closely with research charities and patient groups to help reinforce a legal, regulatory and public climate in which work such as this can proceed. This apparent first step of course awaits further clarification and scrutiny: it does not mean cures are around the corner, but it may suggest we can overcome hurdles such as the shortage of human eggs for embryo and stem cell research in our quest to understand and treat a range of devastating ills.”

2 April 2008