It was hailed some 15 years ago as the great hope for a biomedical revolution: the use of cloning techniques to create perfectly matched tissues that would someday cure ailments ranging from diabetes to Parkinson’s disease. Since then, the approach has been enveloped in ethical debate, tainted by fraud and, in recent years, overshadowed by a competing technology. Most groups gave up long ago on the finicky core method — production of patient-specific embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from cloning. A quieter debate followed: do we still need ‘therapeutic’ cloning? (Nature)

Scientists have used cloning technology to transform human skin cells into embryonic stem cells, an experiment that may revive the controversy over human cloning. The researchers stopped well short of creating a human clone. But they showed, for the first time, that it is possible to create cloned embryonic stem cells that are genetically identical to the person from whom they are derived. (The Wall Street Journal)

At some point in the next decade, if advances in biotechnology continue on their current path, clones of extinct species such as the passenger pigeon, Tasmanian tiger and wooly mammoth could once again live among us. (Scientific American)

A scientist has said it would be possible to clone a Neanderthal baby from ancient DNA if he could find a woman willing to act as a surrogate. (The Telegraph)

Parents who lose children in accidents may be able to clone ‘copies’ to replace them within 50 years, a British scientist who won this year’s Nobel prize for medicine predicted. (The Telegraph)

A dystopian society supported by genetically modified clone workers stands out among the six stories that make up the sprawling film “Cloud Atlas.” The idea may seem far-fetched because of political opposition to human cloning and genetic modification in today’s world, but the science is closer than many people may think. (Live Science)

Keith Campbell, a prominent biologist who worked on cloning Dolly the sheep, has died at 58, the University of Nottingham said Thursday. (Huffington Post)

A South Korean private bioengineering laboratory led by disgraced stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk said Monday it is stepping up efforts to make progress in cloning an extinct woolly mammoth. (The Korea Herarld)

The cloning of Dolly the sheep was a remarkable demonstration of the oocyte’s ability to reprogram a specialized nucleus. However, embryos derived from such somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) very rarely result in live births—a fate that may be linked to observed epigenetic defects. A new genome-wide study shows that epigenetic reprogramming in SCNT embryos does not fully recapitulate the natural DNA demethylation events occurring at fertilization, resulting in aberrant methylation at some promoters and repetitive elements that may contribute to developmental failure. (Nature)

The United States has mandated a permanent ban in issuing patents on human embryos.  President Barack Obama signed the prohibition into law Sept. 16 as part of a patent reform measure titled the “America Invents Act.” (Christian Post)

Nearly 10 years after scientists cloned the first cat, predictions of a vast commercial market for the “resurrection” of beloved pets through cloning have fallen flat.  (The Independent)

Rejecting arguments that Australian stem cell regulations are too permissive, an independent panel on 7 July has advised the government not to alter the rules. (Science Insider)

I am at a conference in Dubai on science, religion and modernity, and the best question to come up was “should we clone Neanderthals?” Let’s assume the kind of technical progress which would make this look like a possibly ethical thing to do: the failure rate with mammalian cloning has been so high that it really would be rather dodgy to inflict the process on a human being.  (Guradian.co.uk)

Some Ohio lawmakers say they want to ban embryonic human cloning. But some Ohio scientists say the bill legislators have drafted would prevent research and development companies from coming in to the buckeye state.  (Idea Stream)

Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs poll shows that 84% of Americans still oppose human cloning. It was ranked the third most unpopular issue, before polygamy (86% opposed) and adultery (91% opposed).  (BioEdge)

Journal of Bioethical Inquiry (Volume 8, Issue 1, March 2011) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

• “Editorial” by Kate Cregan, 1.
• “Issues and Challenges in Research on the Ethics of Medical Tourism: Reflections from a Conference” by Jeremy Snyder, Valorie Crooks and Leigh Turner, 3-6.
• “Recent Developments” by Cameron Stewart, Bill Madden, Tina Cockburn and John Coggon, 7-12.
• “Symposium: Neuroethics and Mental Health—Old Wine in New Bottles or a Legitimate New Field of Bioethical Inquiry” Michael Robertson, 13-14.
• “‘This is Why you’ve Been Suffering’: Reflections of Providers on Neuroimaging in Mental Health Care” by Emily Borgelt, Daniel Z. Buchman and Judy Illes, 15-25.
• “Psychiatric Molecular Genetics and the Ethics of Social Promises” by John Z. Sadler, 27-34.
• “The Gold-Plated Leucotomy Standard and Deep Brain Stimulation” by Grant Gillett, 35-44.
• “Criminal Law as It Pertains to Patients Suffering from Psychiatric Diseases by Maxwell R. Bennett and Peter M. S. Hacker, 45-58.
• “A New Challenge for Research Ethics: Incidental Findings in Neuroimaging” by Bert Heinrichs, 59-65.
• “What Constitutes Adequate Public Consultation? Xenotransplantation Proceeds in Australia” by Peta S. Cook, 67-70.
• “Art and Bioethics: Shifts in Understanding Across Genres” Paul Ulhas Macneill and Bronaċ Ferran, 71-85.
• “One Flu Over The Cuckoo’s Nest: Comparing Legislated Coercive Treatment for Mental Illness with that for Other Illness” by Christopher James Ryan, 87-93.
• “Petryna, Adriana. 2009. When experiments travel: Clinical trials and the global search for human subjects” by Kevin A. Schulman, 95-96.
• “Republication: In that Case” by Malcolm Parker,97-98.
• “Response” by Robert King,99.
• “Response” by Tony Wild,101-102.
• “Response” by Christopher James Ryan, 103-104.
• “In That Case” by Bill Lukin, 105-106.
• “Erratum: “This is Why you’ve Been Suffering”: Reflections of Providers on Neuroimaging in Mental Health Care” by Emily Borgelt, Daniel Z. Buchman and Judy Illes, 107.

Fischbach, R-Paynesville, and Rep. Bob Dettmer, R-Forest Lake, have introduced matching bills to ban human applications of the procedure known as somatic cell nuclear transfer. (St Cloud Times)

Unacceptable death rates of laboratory animals have forced AgResearch to end its cloning trials. But the science agency says it will continue to create more genetically engineered animals using new research methods. (Stuff.co.nz)

The New England Journal of Medicine (Volume 363, Issue 25, December 16, 2010) is now available on-line and by subscription only.

Articles include:

“Health Care Reform — What Went Wrong on the Way to the Courthouse” Mark A. Hall, J.D., available on-line.

Quebec is challenging several sections of the Assisted Human Reproduction Act, claiming parts of the law go too far and infringe on provincial jurisdiction. The province says it has no problem with parts of the law that outlaw chimeras — the creation of human-animal hybrids — but maintains other sections, such as how embryos are handled and how consent can be given, should be regulated by the province. (Calgary Sun)

While the subject of cloning has not been in the news lately, people should realize that there are some scientists who still want human clones, and politicians pushing for approval of human cloning for experiments. (LifeNews.com)