Hybrid embryos in Britain: the penultimate step
On Wednesday evening, the lower house of the British parliament in the third reading approved a law authorizing the creation of hybrid embryos, or chimeras, The Guardian newspaper writes. Embryos, which are a "mixture" of humans and animals, can serve as a source of stem cells.
The House of Commons supported the controversial bill by 355 votes to 129, AFP said. It must now be approved by the House of Lords. If the upper house makes a positive decision, the creation of chimeras in the UK can be officially authorized in November 2008.
To create hybrid embryos, a nucleus is removed from a mammalian egg and a human nucleus is placed in its place. The nucleus is a cellular organelle that contains the genetic material (DNA) of an organism. The process of division of the created cell is triggered by external influence. The resulting embryo will not be completely human: its cells will contain a part of the animal "parent" (for example, the cellular organelles of the mitochondria, which produce energy for the "work" of the cell, also contain DNA. A chimeric embryo inherits them from an animal).
The idea of allowing the creation of hybrid embryos has been discussed in the UK for a long time. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) announced in September 2007 that it approved the receipt of such embryos, despite the lack of official parliamentary approval. Stem cells obtained from chimeras can help in the treatment of many diseases. Nevertheless, such studies have a large number of opponents. The creation of hybrid embryos is prohibited in 21 countries.