Lead Into Gold: Wilmut Says Human Cloning Research "Unnecessary"
Wilmut praised Yamanaka's achievement, saying the finding was equivalent to the discovery of the double-helix structure of DNA. "I certainly think Yamanaka will have the Nobel Prize," he said. Wilmut said he had initially planned a study to produce embryonic stem (ES) cells from cloned embryos, which are produced by placing the nucleus of a human somatic cell into an ova.Wow. What a turnaround. It seems increasingly clear that the ethical conundrum regarding pluripotent stem cells is well on the way to being solved.
In connection with his research on iPS cells, Wilmut said it will be unnecessary in years to come to conduct studies to develop ES cells from cloned human embryos. Nevertheless, Wilmut stressed the need to continue studies involving cloned animals in the future.