Stanford University biochemist Dr. William Hurlbut has proposed a technique that could allow scientists to create human embryonic stem cells without having to destroy human embryos, a procedure that could offer a "path out of the controversy" surrounding embryonic stem cell research, the Boston Globe reports. Hurlbut has proposed that scientists engineer a human egg that could generate embryonic stem cells but would never have the potential of developing into an embryo, according to the Globe. The technique, called altered nuclear transfer, involves implanting DNA from a donor's cell into a human egg that has had its nucleus removed and then stimulating the egg to divide. By turning off a gene that is "crucial in the first stages of development," scientists could prevent cells from organizing into a human embryo and still harvest embryonic stem cells, Hurlbut said, according to the Globe. Hurlbut -- who is a member of the President's Council on Bioethics and a "firm opponent" of any research that involves destroying human embryos -- will present his proposal to the council early next month, according to the Globe. If the technique works, it could provide the "first major shift" in the debate on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research since President Bush announced his policy restricting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research (Cook, Boston Globe, 11/21). Bush on Aug. 9, 2001, announced a policy limiting federally funded embryonic stem cell research to cell lines created on or before that date (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 11/17).

Obstacles, Reaction
Although some biologists believe Hurlbut's proposed technique is "feasible," it faces "two sets of hurdles" before it could become a "workable compromise" to the embryonic stem cell debate, the Globe reports. There are several technical obstacles to successfully performing the procedure, which has been demonstrated in mice but not in humans. In mice, scientists removed the gene that would allow the eggs to develop into embryos, but in humans scientists will need to show that they can "turn off" the gene to prevent the formation of an embryo but "turn it back on" in resulting embryonic stem cells that are not flawed, according to the Globe. In addition to technical challenges, researchers also face the ethical and political challenge of establishing a consensus that the cells created during the procedure do not constitute a human embryo. Three critics of current techniques to create embryonic stem cells -- Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco; Robert George, a fellow member of the president's council; and Nigel M. de S. Cameron, who runs a bioethics think tank in Illinois -- have said Hurlbut's proposal could help avoid moral objections to embryonic stem cell research. "Just given who is saying this, one of the best informed and most respected thinkers on the conservative side, this is something I take seriously," Cameron said, adding, "I think it has enormous promise." Hurlbut said that the growing political divide over embryonic stem cell research makes moving forward with his proposal "urgent," according to the Globe. He added, "In this country, it is almost as if we would rather argue than find a solution. It would be so much better if we could find a way to produce these cells with a genuine social consensus behind them" (Boston Globe, 11/21).