Harvard harvests controversial embryo cells

‘‘What we have done is to make use of previously frozen human fertilised eggs that otherwise were going to be discarded,’’ Melton told reporters in a telephone briefing.

His team’s achievement, announced ahead of publication by The New England Journal of Medicine, doubles the number of stem cell batches or ‘‘lines’’ that are available to researchers who also have access to private funds to work with them — or who are based outside of the US.

Last month, South Korean scientists announced they had created several cloned human embryos with the hope of finding a way to mine them for stem cells. Private US companies such as Advanced Cell Technology in Massachusetts are also pursuing the field, but say it is difficult to get funding.

Melton said a variety of cells is needed so that scientists can study them. ‘‘In my case we want them only to become pancreatic beta cells that make insulin,’’ said Melton, who is seeking a cure for his two children with Type-1 diabetes, a disease that affects as many as 2 million Americans.

Stem cells are master cells that have the potential to grow into various kinds of tissue.

Taken either from embryos used from attempts to make test-tube babies, or using cloning technology, they appear not to cause potentially deadly transplant responses such as rejection. — (Reuters)