"Nuclear transplantation" refers to a scientific technique where the nucleus (containing genetic material) of a cell is moved from one cell to another. It can be used to create genetically identical copies of an individual or to modify the genetic traits of an organism.
Full definition
Below is the full text of the Senate's letter, followed by a summary of the legislation to ban human reproductive cloning and allow
nuclear transplantation research to continue.
AAAS supports stem cell research, including the use
of nuclear transplantation techniques (also known as research or therapeutic cloning), in order to realize the enormous potential health benefits this technology offers.
Soon we will be able to control the health and perhaps the genetic makeup of children with the aid of genetic screening, genetic engineering,
nuclear transplantation, egg fusion, cloning, selective abortion and in utero fetal surgery.
Lanza and his colleagues were also the first to demonstrate that
nuclear transplantation could be used to reverse the aging process and to generate immune - compatible tissues, including the first organ tissue - engineered from cloned cells.
Require
that nuclear transplantation occur in labs completely separate from labs that engage in in vitro fertilization.
Impose strong ethics rules on scientists, mandating informed consent by egg donors; review of
any nuclear transplantation research by an ethics board; and include safety and privacy protections.
The panel concluded that the scientific and medical considerations that justify a ban on human reproductive cloning at this time do not apply to
nuclear transplantation to produce stem cells.