Hybrid embryos and regulation abroad

A report in the journal Nature says that scientists in China have inserted human DNA into rabbit eggs that have been stripped of their own chromosomes. The team, from the Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou, hopes to use the resulting 'hybrid embryos' in embryonic stem cell (ES cell) research. Using rabbit eggs might overcome egg shortages for experiments into ES cell research and therapeutic cloning.

Chen Xigu, leader of the team, said that they had put nuclei from the skin cells of a seven-year old boy into the stripped rabbit eggs. About 100 of the embryos created developed to the morula stage, about three days of development. However, the blastocyst stage - when ES cells can be isolated from embryos - was not reached.

Meanwhile, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that India is to bring in stringent new guidelines to govern stem cell research. Currently, IVF and assisted reproduction are unregulated in India, and there is no ban on the use of 14-day old embryos for research. Ten of the named stem cell lines eligible for federally funded research in the US are held in India.

The new guidelines will prevent international commercial trade in human embryos and regulate the transfer of ES cell lines for foreign use. IVF clinics will be given an accreditation system, as they are seen as the largest source of embryos. A central ethics committee will be set up to monitor and regulate progress and research. Finally, Science reports that Israel's national bioethics committee has approved both the derivation of ES cells and research into therapeutic cloning.