Last week I took some heat during and after the show with "disappointed" fans who disagree with my cautious endorsement of SCNT (Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer) and the spririted discussion with 85th District Missouri Congressman Jim Lembke.  The issue: Should we really criminalize "therapeutic cloning" as detractors have termed it?  First the facts.

SCNT is simply replacing the extracted nucleus of an unfertilized egg cell with the nucleus of a differentiated cell.  The resulting ball of cells is engineered to grow along one of several lines which may in time be very helpful in many conditions resulting from damaged organs.  Unlike adult stem cells, the stem cells derived from SCNT are more malleable and result in positive clinical results.  Contrary to the hype, adult stem cell trials, most notably one designed to regenerate damaged heart muscle, have been failures.  And while some advances in leukemias and other childhhood tumors have been gratifying, limitations owing to genetic differences between say cord blookd stem cells and a recipient are real.  Because the new heart tissue for example, from a SCNT stem cell made by uniting the patients own nucleus with a fertilized egg would be genetically identical, the potential for rejection should be nil.  Of course we must recognize that potential is just that, and only more work will reveal the reality.

Jim Lembke is a good and decent man who fervently backs his position.  On the other hand, I have talked with evnagelical Christians who like me have prayed, grappled with and finally come to terms with this issue.  Jim is right, the resulting embryo after SCNT looks like a fertilized egg derived embryo, BUT, functionally the genes expressed (ie. the oct 4 gene) are entirely different.  The biochemical plan is different because the genetic material was derived other than fertilization and the ball starts rolling down an entirely different developmental hill.  I reminded Jim that a mouse blastocyst looks just like an early human embryo too.  And a porpoise looks like a fish but is really a mammal.  So this SCNT product is NOT a pre born baby.  In fact, reputable and rational scientists want NO part of "reproductive cloning"....it is bad ethics and bad science. 

So what's your view?  Register on the site and weigh in.  And stay tuned for more.

Randy