A team of Newcastle-based scientists has lodged the first request to clone a human embryo, whch could lead to a revolution in how we treat many conditions. Barry Nelson weighs up the pro and cons.

NANCY Reagan's unexpected U-turn on stem cell research has raised the stakes for a pioneering team of North-East scientists. The scientists, based at Newcastle's International Centre For Life, have applied for permission to clone human cells for the first time in the UK.

They hope to make the North-East the world's leading centre for new, stem cell-derived treatments

Their first target is to find a way of curing diabetes by using stem cell technology to generate insulin-producing cells which will not be rejected by the recipient.

The controversial application is opposed by pro-life groups on ethical grounds and some scientists, who believe that embryonic stem cell research is a technical blind alley.

Although the Newcastle scientists are not expecting to hear the results of their application to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) until next week, they know they need to move quickly to stay ahead in the international race to develop new therapies based on stem cell research.

Nancy Reagan's public support for stem cell research using human embryos following her husband's death earlier this month after suffering for years with Alzheimer's Disease, has increased the chances of a change of heart in America, where the technique is banned.

She believes that the research could eventually lead to a cure for the debilitating and devastating brain disease.

President Bush's ban on further research using embryo-derived stem cells in 2001 stalled efforts by American scientists and allowed the Newcastle team, in August last year, to be only the second in the world to clone stem cells extracted from human embryos.

While cloning to create duplicate human beings is outlawed in Britain, therapeutic cloning has been legal since 2002. But this lead over America, and the prospect of creating high-tech jobs in the North-East, could be dashed, either by a rejection by the HFEA or by a change of heart in an America awash with research funds.

Even if it has to wait for the election of a Democratic administration under John Kerry, the Newcastle team probably only has a few years to make an impact in this advanced area of research before the big bucks behind American science allow the US to close the gap.

The production of stem cells capable of reproducing themselves under laboratory conditions last summer marked the beginning of a new chapter of UK research.

It was also a stunning triumph for North-East science, demonstrating that the International Centre For Life has world class scientists capable of cutting-edge research.

The breakthrough in the field of stem cells - which have the ability to develop into different kinds of tissue - holds out the promise of revolutionary treatments being developed for conditions such as Parkinson's Disease and debilitating spinal injuries. Some believe that the technology could allow humans to "grow" a variety of replacement human organs.

The team which produced the human cells from embryos was led by Professor Tom Strachan, of Newcastle University's Insitutute of Human Genetics, and Professor Alison Murdoch, of the Newcastle NHS Trust's Fertility Centre, working with Dr Miodrag Stojkovic and Dr Majlindo Lako.

The application to clone embryos is in the name of Professor Murdoch, who is better known as one of the region's leading gynaecologists and an expert in the field of in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.

Prof Murdoch is aware of the opposition to working with human embryos in some quarters but argues that this is a good use of "spare" embryos created during fertility treatment, which would otherwise be disposed off as clinical waste.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Prof Murdoch said: "This is a first for the UK and we should be very proud of it. We are looking at five to ten years before we can even begin to think about having readily-available cures. But we have got to start somewhere and this is so promising we can't afford not to let it happen."

Professor Fred Wright, chief executive of Newcastle's Centre for Excellence in Life Sciences, says that drug therapies are not the only potential use for stem cell technology. He believes that there may be other commercial opportunities that could be turned into investment and jobs for the region.

Alistair Balls, chief executive of the International Centre For Life, is optimistic about the future. He says: "It is very exciting to think that if we succeed we will be the first place in the Western world able to do this."

But while the Centre For Life team await the verdict, there are others who do not share their enthusiasm for embryo-based research.

Josephine Quintavalle, spokeswoman for the Pro-Life Alliance, one of many pro-life organisations to register opposition to the application, says most people understand the objection to using human embryos for experimental purposes.

"It is a moral objection based on the principle that an embryo is the earliest stage of human life and must be respected," she says.

But the Pro-Life Alliance argues that the Newcastle approach is scientifically flawed.

"There is so much that is wrong with the whole approach. Apart from the serious health risks attached to egg donation, the justification given for doing this makes one question whether they have any understanding of diabetes at all,"

The Pro-Life Alliance says it has conducted research into the stem cell approach to treating diabetes and found no evidence that it could be viable.

"We have concluded after reviewing all of the existing scientific literature that this is not going to be the way forward," Ms Quintavalle says.

"Instead of pursing ethically dubious embryonic stem cell research, the Newcastle team would be well advised to consider using stem cells derived from adults and the umbilical cord of new-born babies.

"Adult-derived stem cells have already helped to restore sight by growing corneal tissue and there are signs that this technique can help to repair injured spinal tissue. Adult stem cell solutions are much further ahead whereas the embryo-derived approach is a long way off."

She expressed regret that Nancy Reagan had come out in favour of stem cell research when her husband was a committed pro-lifer.

"She obviously loved this man very much and I think she should respect his memory," she says.

Intriguingly, opposition also comes from an anti-cloning scientific pressure gorup called Human Genetics Alert (HGA). A letter written to HFEA chairwoman Suzi Leather asking her to reject the application from the Newcastle team is signed by HGA's director, molecular biologist Dr David King, and six other scientists and ethicical experts. The group argues that the planned research is scientifically weak and irresponsible.

"It is very unlikely to produce anything medically useful, but it will be a great help for those who want to clone babies," Dr King says.

But Prof Murdoch is convinced that the Newcastle team can be a force for good and help provide undreamt of new treatments for a host of diseases and conditions.

How human cloning could help mankind

* The Stem Cell Group at the International Centre for Life in Newcastle has applied for a licence to permit human cloning.

* The eggs used would be donated by couples undergoing test tube baby, or In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) treatment.

* Cloned embryos are created by replacing the nuclei in human eggs with nuclei taken from skin tissue of adult donors.

* The eggs are then stimulated so they divide, as if they had been fertilised.

* Stem cell taken from t he developing human embryos - which are then discarded - have the potential to become any kind of tissue in the human body, including bone, muscle, nerves and organs.

* Scientists hope to use them to fight diseases which are currently incurable.

* The Newcastle team is hoping to investigate the creation of insulin-producing cells that can be transplanted into patients with diabetes.

* Because they include elements from the donor it should avoid the problem of rejection.

* Other applications could involve the treatment of brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's or damaged hearts.