UK Approves Human-Animal Embryo Research

British regulators said Thursday they have approved two proposals for research using human embryos derived from animal eggs.

The Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said it had offered, subject to conditions, one-year research licenses to King’s College London and Newcastle University.

``The HFEA License Committee determined that the two applications satisfied all the requirements of the law,’’ the agency said.

The decision means British scientists will be able to refine their techniques for producing human stem cells, and potentially find cures for degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease.

``The HFEA’s decision is excellent,’’ said Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell expert at Britain’s National Institute for Medical Research. ``It adds to the arsenal of techniques United Kingdom scientists can use to provide understanding and eventually develop therapies for a wide range of devastating genetic diseases.’‘

Scientists from King’s College and Newcastle University submitted applications last year to create human stem cells using animal eggs. The process involves injecting an empty cow or rabbit egg with human DNA. A burst of electricity is then used to trick the egg into dividing regularly, so that it becomes a very early embryo from which stem cells can be extracted.

Because there is a limited supply of human eggs, scientists proposed using animal eggs instead.

``Cow eggs seem to be every bit as good at doing this job as human eggs,’’ said Lyle Armstrong of Newcastle University, one of the license applicants.

``We will only use them as a scientific tool and we need not worry about cells being derived from them ever being used to treat human diseases.’’ The embryos would not be allowed to develop for more than two weeks.

Experts say this kind of work will allow scientists to better understand degenerative diseases at the cellular level, with the aim of finding new drugs.