Monkey Clones and Stem Cells (broadcast Friday, November 16th, 2007)

Semos, a rhesus macaque monkey, was the donor for the cells used in the cloning experiment. Oregon Health and Science University

Researchers report an advance in the production of embryonic stem cells -- work, they say, that could in theory work in humans as well. The research team, at Oregon Health & Science University first used skin cells from rhesus macaque monkeys to create cloned embryos. They then extracted embryonic stem cells from the few day old embryos.

The new work is published online in the journal Nature, and marks the first time a primate embryo has been successfully cloned. Several years ago, Korean researchers claimed to have used a similar process to clone a human embryo. That work was later discredited as fraudulent. In this segment, Ira talks with NPR's Joe Palca about the advance and what it means for the field of stem cell research.