This is truly frightening. In the UK a new rule may allow scientists to create cloned human/animal embryos with patient’s donated tissue without their consent:

Tens of thousands of samples of human tissue will be offered for use in controversial human/animal hybrid embryo research without the consent of the patients who donated them. New rules coming into force next month will give scientists working on stem cell research access to samples of blood and tissue collected by NHS hospitals during biopsies and treatments, as well as to giant “tissue banks” which built up stores of material before the legislation was introduced.

Ethics experts, patients’ groups and churches described the change as “absolutely frightening” and liable to destroy trust among thousands who donate, whatever their views on the use of hybrid embryos for stem cell research.

While scientists will have to try to gain explicit consent before using cells from such stores, if the samples were collected before 1st October and the donor cannot be tracked down, the experiments will be allowed to go ahead regardless.

What kind of warped thinking makes something like this seem acceptable even for a moment? It’s becoming increasingly clear that for scientists these days, nothing really is off limits.

It’s sometimes hard to keep up on all the latest threats to human life in the world today, but this new area of biotechnology demands our attention. It may sound like pure fantasy (cloning, really??) but it’s happening now – right here in our own country!

Related: in a recent column for Wired, Gregg Easterbrook says we should embrace human cloning to help the infertile pass on their genes (h/t Mary Meets Dolly).