Science creates she-male human hybrid Anger at embryo experiment

An American clinic developed the hermaphrodite embryo, ostensibly to discover whether cells from a healthy human embryo could be used to treat a defective one.

It was not allowed to develop beyond six days but the

disclosure that the experiment had even taken place pro-voked an angry reaction from fellow experts and pro-life campaigners.

One claimed the result was ''a freak of nature'' which would benefit no-one, another de-scribed it as ''Mengelian'', while Professor Sheila McLean, a leading expert in medical ethics in Scotland, said: ''I really don't think the public can take much more.''

The development of a she-male or chimera was announced at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology's conference in Madrid, the venue for a series of controversial declarations this week.

On Monday, a group of scientists from Israel and Holland claimed aborted foetuses could one day be used to obtain eggs for fertility treatment, leading to the possibility of babies being born from mothers who were themselves unborn. The revelation led to outrage among anti-abortion groups and some scientists in the UK.

Researchers from Sweden told the conference on Tuesday that womb transplants could be possible within the next three years, claiming it would give hope to thousands of infertile mothers. However, there was concern that women could end up giving birth from their own mother's womb, the most suitable donors. The technique could even be used eventually to allow men to give birth.

Yesterday, Dr Norbert Gleicher, from the Centres for Human Reproduction in New York and Chicago, a private fertility clinic group, told the conference his team had transplanted cells from a developing male embryo into a three-day old female embryo.

The cells integrated to produce a hybrid embryo made up of components, or blastomeres, from both sources. Creating an embryo with male and female parts made it possible to identify the amalgamated cells by checking their chromosomes.

Dr Gleicher said it might be possible to use the technique to treat genetic diseases at the embryo stage. ''Since the treatment of single-gene diseases does not require successful treatment of all cells, blastomere transplantation could be explored as a possible treatment option.''

He said the method could also be used to spot genetic problems.

Other experts at the meeting claimed the research was flawed and pointless. Dr Francoise Shenfield, co-ordinator of the conference's special interest group on ethics and law, said: ''The aim is to create a chimera to correct a defect, but it seems a little illogical because nobody has any idea how much of the embryo would be normal. This research happened in America but I can't imagine it being accepted anywhere in Europe, I'm happy to say.''

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which licenses embryo re-search in the UK, said there was nothing in the law that expressly forbade such experiments. But anyone seeking to carry out similar work would have to obtain a licence from the HFEA.

Professor McLean, professor of law and ethics in medicine at Glasgow University, said: ''I really don't think the public can take much more. I feel that there is a sense that the people are reeling from the stories that have emerged this week about artificial wombs and aborted foetuses and now this.

''It seems to me that the advances in reproduction medicine in particular are going incredibly fast.

''The fusing of the genders is what is controversial here. If you could strip that away, it is a story that might offer considerable hope as do many we have seen this week. But this is one more example of why we need to try to engage in some sort of proper debate with

science.''

Scotland's main churches have regularly warned about the conflict between scientific interests and ethics in human reproduction.

Patrick Cusworth, spokes-man for the pro-life charity Life, said: ''The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology has hardly covered itself with glory in the past few days.

''We asked the question yesterday as to whether researchers could sink any lower in their lack of respect for human life. Here is our answer: the creation of a she-male.

''This report that a human embryo, a new living and unique individual, has been created to such Mengelian standards is shocking. These scientists claim that their research is for the good of humankind. Yet how is the creation and destruction of such a freak of nature intended to benefit anyone?''

He said it was a ''callous abuse of early human life'' and ''must surely send shivers down the spines of the general public''.