X-Message-Number: 10761
From: "John Clark" <>
Subject: A Human Bovine Hybrid
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1998 12:19:34 -0500

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

More big news from biology, today another company "Advanced Cell
Technology" (ACT) announced that they too have produced Human Embryonic
Stem Cells but their technique is superior and they did it over 2 years
ago. In 1996 Dr. Jose Cibelli obtained a cow egg cell from a
slaughterhouse and destroyed the nucleus in it, he then took one of his
own cells from inside his cheek and removed the nucleus from it and
inserted it into the cow egg cell. It started to divide as if it had
been fertilized normally, he stopped it before it developed into an
embryo but not before he obtained Jose Cibelli's own personal stem
cells. Some say the bovine mitochondria DNA will cause problems but
most think it should work as well and even if it didn't the few human
mitochondria that inevitably follow the nucleus during the transfer
procedure would be enough to take up the slack.

ACT filed for a patent at the time but, fearing a negative reaction
from the superstitious over a human bovine hybrid, kept their discovery
secret. The announcement from rival Geron Corporation a few days ago
made them come out of the closet. Meanwhile medical ethicists are doing
what medical ethicists do, whine and fuss and moan.

   John K Clark     

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: PGP for Personal Privacy 5.5.5

iQA/AwUBNksYCN+WG5eri0QzEQJVYgCfYlcoy7kCB6GeLIf/CDhFAPgorhMAoOfz
KtybaknFYUQntnUvZ63yy53g
=/j/A
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=10761