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Stanford Denies Stem Cell Work Involves Cloning
Aired December 11, 2002 - 14:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: An old controversy has been revived with Stanford University's announcement that it will experiment with cell nuclear transfer technology. Stanford denies that its work with stem cells involves human cloning, but others say it's pretty darn close. Our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, now with the details. And why not just call it cloning, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that's the exact question. There's no question about it, Kyra. We're talking about stem cells. We're talking about precisely how you get these stem cells. And that's been a point of quite a bit of controversy. Certainly, these are promising cells, but no doubt controversial. And one way you can get them is from discarded in vitro fertilization embryos. That's a way that a lot of the stem cell lines that exist today -- that's where a lot of those stem cell lines actually came from.
Another way, and a more controversial way, Kyra, is exactly what you said, actually, potentially creating these stem cell lines through what is known as therapeutic cloning. You gave the more scientific name for it, somatic cell nuclear transfer, but the more commonly known term for it, the term that we all talk about, is cloning.
Stanford, my colleague, Elizabeth Cohen actually talked to the lead researcher out at Stanford, who emphatically denied that this is cloning, but all of the other scientists who are sort of surrounding this debate say that's what it is. We may as well just call it that.
And let me just point out as well, Kyra, there are a lot of significant benefits, potential uses of stem cells. I think we have a list of some of them. You can see the list there: understanding diseases better, suggesting new strategies for therapy, testing new drugs, cell-braced therapies. Most scientists in the field agree that stem cell research looks very promising, but it's this whole therapeutic cloning thing where people get hung up, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Were there legal ramifications for Stanford University?
GUPTA: Well, as it turns out, the way it stands right now, last year in August, President Bush approved federal funding for any existing stem cell lines. The Senate and the House came short of actually abolishing all forms of cloning. Therapeutic cloning, which is what this likely is, is not illegal. And in this particular case, the money that would actually subsidize this particular research is all private money, it isn't federal money. Interestingly enough, it's $12 million from an anonymous donor. PHILLIPS: So is this just a question of semantics?
GUPTA: You know, that's a good way of putting it. I think it is a question of semantics. And it's a politically charged question, it's an emotionally charged question. People don't like to use that word cloning. It's sort of got this nasty connotation to it now, because you know what people envision, people envision actually taking this clump of cells, implanting it into a woman's uterus and growing a human clone. And that's not what's happening here. I don't think anyone thinks that that's what's happening here. But it is pushing the envelope in one way, this therapeutic cloning. So it just may be semantics. Again, the Stanford scientists say this isn't cloning. Other scientists say it is. What is -- it's a sort of a complicated scientific technique, but it comes pretty darn close to just plain out cloning.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, always a pleasure. Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Kyra, take care.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 11, 2002 - 14:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: An old controversy has been revived with Stanford University's announcement that it will experiment with cell nuclear transfer technology. Stanford denies that its work with stem cells involves human cloning, but others say it's pretty darn close. Our medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, now with the details. And why not just call it cloning, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that's the exact question. There's no question about it, Kyra. We're talking about stem cells. We're talking about precisely how you get these stem cells. And that's been a point of quite a bit of controversy. Certainly, these are promising cells, but no doubt controversial. And one way you can get them is from discarded in vitro fertilization embryos. That's a way that a lot of the stem cell lines that exist today -- that's where a lot of those stem cell lines actually came from.
Another way, and a more controversial way, Kyra, is exactly what you said, actually, potentially creating these stem cell lines through what is known as therapeutic cloning. You gave the more scientific name for it, somatic cell nuclear transfer, but the more commonly known term for it, the term that we all talk about, is cloning.
Stanford, my colleague, Elizabeth Cohen actually talked to the lead researcher out at Stanford, who emphatically denied that this is cloning, but all of the other scientists who are sort of surrounding this debate say that's what it is. We may as well just call it that.
And let me just point out as well, Kyra, there are a lot of significant benefits, potential uses of stem cells. I think we have a list of some of them. You can see the list there: understanding diseases better, suggesting new strategies for therapy, testing new drugs, cell-braced therapies. Most scientists in the field agree that stem cell research looks very promising, but it's this whole therapeutic cloning thing where people get hung up, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Were there legal ramifications for Stanford University?
GUPTA: Well, as it turns out, the way it stands right now, last year in August, President Bush approved federal funding for any existing stem cell lines. The Senate and the House came short of actually abolishing all forms of cloning. Therapeutic cloning, which is what this likely is, is not illegal. And in this particular case, the money that would actually subsidize this particular research is all private money, it isn't federal money. Interestingly enough, it's $12 million from an anonymous donor. PHILLIPS: So is this just a question of semantics?
GUPTA: You know, that's a good way of putting it. I think it is a question of semantics. And it's a politically charged question, it's an emotionally charged question. People don't like to use that word cloning. It's sort of got this nasty connotation to it now, because you know what people envision, people envision actually taking this clump of cells, implanting it into a woman's uterus and growing a human clone. And that's not what's happening here. I don't think anyone thinks that that's what's happening here. But it is pushing the envelope in one way, this therapeutic cloning. So it just may be semantics. Again, the Stanford scientists say this isn't cloning. Other scientists say it is. What is -- it's a sort of a complicated scientific technique, but it comes pretty darn close to just plain out cloning.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, always a pleasure. Thanks, Sanjay.
GUPTA: Kyra, take care.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
