Bioethics Day at the Vatican
20 / 12 / 2008
The Vatican has just issued a new document addressing the morality of various developments in biotechnology, including in vitro fertilization, germ line gene therapy, and so-called altered nuclear transfer (ANT). Dignitas Personae, issued at a Vatican press conference this morning, does not hold many surprises–it is mainly a clarification of previously known positions.
It does take [...]
The Vatican has just issued a new document addressing the morality of various developments in biotechnology, including in vitro fertilization, germ line gene therapy, and so-called altered nuclear transfer (ANT). Dignitas Personae, issued at a Vatican press conference this morning, does not hold many surprises–it is mainly a clarification of previously known positions.
It does take a cautious line on ANT, which at least one Catholic bishop had endorsed. The technique is an effort to find a way to produce stem cells from cloning without ever producing a viable embryo. Scientists have attempted to inactivate certain genes required for embryo development so that instead of producing an embryo, they produce disorganized cells—which nevertheless can be used to make stem cell lines. The document, however, takes a dim view of the effort, echoing the common criticism that it may produce an embryo after all, one that is just doomed to die. But scientific interest in the technique has waned in recent years in light of new techniques that can reprogram adult cells directly to an embryonic state. A comprehensive analysis of the document is here.
—Gretchen Vogel
Source: Bioethics Day at the Vatican
20 / 12 / 2008 | Tags: Americas, Europe, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY |
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