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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/22/1093113048325.html">http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/22/1093113048325.html</A></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>"In Britain, a group of scientists is about to start cloning
human embryos to develop new treatments for diseases such as
diabetes. Ian Sample explains what happens next."
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>...</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>'Rather than therapeutic cloning becoming a therapy in its own right, it is
its usefulness as a tool for studying disease, as demonstrated by Jaenisch, that
will really have an impact, says Irving Weissman, a developmental biologist at
Stanford University.</DIV>
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<P>"<STRONG>For me, the greatest and most important thing that’ll come from this
is a whole new platform to understand human genetic diseases</STRONG>," Weissman
says. "<STRONG>For the first time ever, you can have the authentic human disease
to work on, right there in cells in front of you</STRONG>." Irving says the
technique will allow scientists to study some of the best-known genetic
diseases, from diabetes to early-onset heart disease, <STRONG>find out precisely
what genetic fault is responsible, and from that develop ways of treating
them</STRONG>.</P>
<P>Irving is one of the optimists.</P>
<P>"Anyone who says therapeutic cloning won't happen based on where we are today
is naive. <STRONG>It's wrong to hype it as something that will happen in the
next five years, but it will happen</STRONG>," he says.'</P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>-------</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Brett Paatsch</FONT></P>
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