Scientists have created embryos from a single parent for the first time in the UK.
Paul de Sousa, a researcher at the Roslin Institute, which also cloned Dolly the sheep, told a press briefing at the British Association festival of science in Dublin last week that his team had created so-called parthenotes, early-stage embryos that are made from a single egg, without the need for sperm.
The researchers have so far created six parthenotes by taking donated eggs from women who were undergoing sterilization. The eggs were given an electric shock to make them divide.
Dr De Sousa said that the intention was to harvest stem cells for the parthenotes but, as yet, the team had not been successful.
Embryonic stem cells are the body's master cells that can turn into any tissue in the body. They can be harvested when the embryo is just a few days old and in the form of a ball of cells called the blastocyst.
Scientists want to use the cells for research into developing treatments for a range of conditions including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
Parthenogenesis occurs naturally in a number of animals. Bees and ants use it to produce their worker drones and some larger animals can also reproduce this way -- lizards, for example -- but it is rare.
Dr De Sousa said his human parthenotes would never be implanted into a womb, which is prohibited by his research license in any case.
Scientists in the US have already produced human parthenotes, but they have not been successful in extracting stem cells.
Organ trials
Clinical trials using animal organs to keep humans alive may be just five years away, an expert has said.
Anthony Warrens, from Imperial College London, said the technical obstacles to successful transplantation of animal organs into humans had almost been surmounted, revitalizing research in the area.
"If you had asked me five years ago, I'd have been very pessimistic. But there have been significant developments in the course of the last year that make one feel this is a problem we can get around," he told the British Association festival.
Dr Warrens said the shortfall in the number of donor organs needed by doctors was intense: for every human organ that becomes available for transplant, there are five people on waiting lists who could benefit.
"If it were feasible to use animals as organ donors, an unlimited supply would potentially become instantly available," said Dr Warrens.
Pigs are the main focus of interest for researchers in this area, because they are of similar size to humans and can be cultivated in large numbers. They are also genetically similar enough for their organs to work in people, but sufficiently distant to reduce likelihood of transfer of infections.
Silent night
Silent aeroplanes could be flying within 20 years Cambridge University engineers said at the British Association festival in Dublin.
A GBP2.3m project has come up with plans for a radical aircraft, with four engines on top of a wing-shaped fuselage,which should be so quiet no noise would be heard outside an airport.
Paul Collins, the project manager of the Silent Aircraft Initiative, a collaboration between Cambridge University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said, "The purpose is to bring in an aircraft that could really reduce noise disturbance."
The flying wing means that there is less air turbulence, hence less noise."The turbulence around the aircraft, the undercarriage and all the flaps creates as much noise as the engines. What we now need to do is to silence those as well."
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