Blastocyst. See also: Blastocyst in utero

Therapeutic cloning (also known as somatic cell nuclear transfer, cell nuclear replacement, research cloning, and embryo cloning) involves taking an egg (or oocyte) from which the nucleus has been removed, and replacing that nucleus with DNA from the cell of another organism. The result is a blastocyst (an early stage embryo with about 100 cells) with almost identical DNA to the original organism. The blastocyst stage of development in the embryos of humans is around 5 days old with 30-150 cells. ... The blastocyst stage of development in the embryos of humans is around 5 days old with 30-150 cells. ... Embryogenesis is the process of cell division and cellular differentiation which leads to the development of an embryo. ... A somatic cell is generally taken to mean any cell forming the body of an organism: the word somatic is derived from the Greek word sōma, meaning body. Somatic cells, by definition, are not germline cells and cannot divide or differentiate to produce a new generation of offspring under... In cell biology, the nucleus (from Latin nucleus or nuculeus, kernel) is found in all eukaryotic cells and contains the nuclear genes which form most of the cells genetic material. ... A human ovum An ovum (from Latin, loosely, egg or egg cell) is a female sex cell or gamete. ... An oocyte or ovocyte is a female gametocyte that divides twice by mitosis and meiosis into two other oocytes or into two ootids. ... The general structure of a section of DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid —usually in the form of a double helix— that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life, and most viruses. ... In biology and ecology, an organism (in Greek organon = instrument) is a complex adaptive system of organs that influence each other in such a way that they function as a more or less stable whole and have properties of life. ... Embryogenesis is the process of cell division and cellular differentiation which leads to the development of an embryo. ... Embryos (and one tadpole) of the wrinkled frog (Rana rugosa). ...

The procedure is controversial, and this is reflected in the language used to describe the blastocyst created. Some people believe it should not be called a blastocyst or embryo, since it has not been created by fertilization, but others maintain that since, given the right conditions, it could still grow into a fetus and eventually a child, it doesn't seem misleading to call it an embryo. Categories: Biology stubs ... Fetus at eight weeks Foetus redirects here. ...

Embryonic stem cells of a mouse.

The aim of carrying out this procedure is to obtain stem cells that are genetically matched to the donor organism. For example, if a person with Parkinson's disease donated their DNA, then it should be theoretically possible to generate embryonic stem cells that could be used to treat their condition without being rejected by the patient's immune system. No such therapies presently exist, however, and the development of the technology has been delayed as governments debate whether to permit such research. Image File history File links Mouse_embryonic_stem_cells. ... Image File history File links Mouse_embryonic_stem_cells. ... Embryos (and one tadpole) of the wrinkled frog (Rana rugosa). ... Binomial name Mus musculus Linnaeus, 1758 Mus musculus is the common house mouse. ... Mouse embryonic stem cells. ... The immune system is the system of specialized cells and organs that protect an organism from outside biological influences. ...

Therapeutic cloning is currently legal for research purposes in the United Kingdom, having been incorporated into the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in 2001. In many other countries, the practice is banned, though laws are being debated and changed regularly. The United Nations voted against a Costa Rica bill to ban both reproductive cloning and therapeutic cloning on December 8, 2003. This article is about the year. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Reproductive cloning is a form of artificial reproduction technique based on cloning. ... December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Support for this procedure derives from its potential medical applications. Some opposition is based on the fact that the procedure destroys human embryos. Others feel that it instrumentalizes human life, or that it would be problematic to allow therapeutic cloning and still prevent reproductive cloning from occurring. Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining human health or restoring it through the treatment of disease and injury. ...

See also

• New Jersey legislation S1909/A2840

To create the cloned embryo, a patient's cell would be fused with a human egg. After six days, the resulting embryo would be dismantled to yield special "stem" cells that can be grown into any tissue needed to repair the patient. S1909/A2840 is a bill that was passed by the New Jersey legislature in December 2003, and signed into law by Governor James McGreevey on January 4, 2004, that permits human cloning for the purpose of developing and harvesting human stem cells. ...

External links

• "Scientists hail stem cell breakthrough" at The Register.
• Epigenome NoE
• To clone or not to clone: interview with James Sherley at MercatorNet

buttheads The Register (El Reg to its staff) is a British technology news website focusing on the computer industry. ...