Workshop_Program

Tentative Agenda
As of August 1, 2001
Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy
Board on Life Sciences

The National Academies
Auditorium
2101 Constitution Avenue; 2100 C Street, NW
Washington, DC

Severino Antinori is currently Professor of Reproductive Physiopathology at the Medical Faculty of the University of Rome "Tor Vergata". He is also Scientific Director of RAPRUI - the International Research Institute for Human. He was formerly Professor of Physiopathology of Reproduction at the University of Pisa. He is President of S.I.M.R. – The Italian Society for Reproductive Medicine and Vice-President of APART - International Association of Assisted Reproductive Medicine Centers and Laboratories. He has published more than 180 papers, mainly in the field of male sterility (he was the first in the world to introduce the technique ICSI and the use of spermatids) and also on such subjects as menopausal pregnancies and human reproduction. He has published in The Lancet and The Journal of Assisted Genetics.

Brigitte Boisselier is the Director of Clonaid, the first human cloning company. She received her first PhD in Physical Chemistry from University of Dijon, France in 1982, and her second in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Houston in 1985. She has published extensively in the journals Inorganic Chemistry and Analytic Chemistry, and holds three patents for chemical processes she has pioneered. Dr. Boisselier’s primary focus has been on the analysis of porphyrins with varying metal-carbon and metal-metal bonds. She continues to carry on research stemming from her dissertation, which focused on porphyrins and the influence of both axial and equatorial ligands on reduction/ oxidation characteristics of the porphyrin molecules. A strong advocate for undergraduate research and scholarship, Dr. Boisselier authored Science et Conscience, a book for the general public on advances in science.

R. Alta Charo is Professor of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin Law and Medical Schools, where she teaches bioethics and biotechnology law, food & drug law, reproductive rights, torts, and legislative drafting. In addition, she has served on the UW Hospital clinical ethics committee, the UW Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects in medical research, and the UW Bioethics Advisory Committee. Prior to her arrival at UW in 1989, Professor Charo served as Associate Director of the Legislative Drafting Research Fund of Columbia University, Fulbright Junior Lecturer in American Law at the Sorbonne in Paris, legal analyst for the Biological Applications Program of the congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and A.A.A.S. Diplomacy Fellow for the Policy Development Division of the Office of Population at the U.S. Agency for International Development. She was a member of the 1993 N.I.H. Human Embryo Research Panel and since 1996 has been a member of the presidential National Bioethics Advisory Commission.

Jose B. Cibelli is Vice President of Research at Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. He received his D.V.M. in Veterinary Medicine at the University of La Plata, Argentina in 1989, and a PhD from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1998. From 1989 to 1993, he was a Veterinarian at the Cooperative of Artificial Insemination of Venado Tureto, Argentina, and has several years of research experience at the Department of Veterinary and Animal Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he did his doctoral dissertation (in the laboratory of James Robl) on the production of transgenic cattle. Dr. Cibelli is one of the pioneers in the area of cloning with transgenic somatic cells in bovine for the production of animals and embryonic stem cell-like cells. His work was focused on the production of transgenic cattle. In January 1998, Dr. Cibelli's efforts lead to the announced the generation of the world's first transgenic calves by cloning. This was followed by publications in Science, Nature Biotechnology and Nature Medicine.

Alan Colman is currently research director of PPL Therapeutics, a small biotechnology firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland (PPL Ltd.), Blacksburg, Virginia, US (PPL Inc) and New Zealand (PPL NZ). He obtained a BA degree in Biochemistry in Oxford (1971) and a PhD under John Gurdon, a pioneer of the field of nuclear transfer, at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK (1974). After a series of academic appointments in Oxford and Warwick Universities, he became Professor of Biochemistry in the University of Birmingham. Along with Ron James (current managing director of PPL) he has been involved with PPL since its inception in 1987, first as part-time research director, becoming full-time (and leaving Birmingham) in 1993. PPL have recently attracted considerable media attention because of their participation in the technique of somatic nuclear transfer. This work led to Dolly, the world’s first sheep cloned from an adult, somatic cell, Polly and Molly, the first cloned transgenic livestock, Diana and Cupid, the first livestock with targeted genetic changes, and, finally, Millie et al., the first cloned pigs.

Jay Cross is an Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, at the University of Calgary, as well as an Investigator of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and a Senior Scholar of the Alberta Heritage Foundation of Medical Research. He received a PhD from the University of Missouri and also a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. He is an expert in the molecular genetics of early embryonic development, focusing in particular on the placenta and cardiovascular system using transgenic and gene knockout mice. He has written extensively about the development and biology of the placenta in different mammalian species.

Peter Farin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Farm Animal Health and Resource Management at North Carolina State University. He received his MS in Animal Science in 1980 from the Colorado State University, where he also got his DVM in Veterinary Medicine. He received his PhD in Veterinary Medical Sciences in 1995 from North Carolina State University. He has published over 30 journal articles and 25 abstracts. He received a specialty board certification from the American College of Theriogenologists in 1991. In the past, Dr. Farin has been a clinical Instructor for the Department of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery at the University of Missouri.

Jonathan Hill is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Cornell University. He is a board certified veterinary animal reproduction specialist and gained his PhD in reproductive physiology from Texas A&M University in 1999. His studies at Texas A&M included observations on the clinical and pathological features of the world’s first somatic cell cloned calves; production of a calf cloned from a 21 year old Brahman bull; and observations on the causes of failure in first trimester cloned pregnancies. He has extensive clinical and research experience with the in vitro production of embryos (cloned and IVF), in vivo embryo collection, embryo transfer, pregnancy monitoring and neonatal care.

Rudolf Jaenisch is one of the founders of transgenic science (gene transfer to create mouse models of human disease). His lab has produced mouse models leading to new understanding of cancers and various neurological diseases. He also has made important contributions to cloning technology. Studies of cloned mice will help decipher how the genome from an adult cell is reprogrammed to create a new organism. Jaenisch, a founding Member of the Whitehead Institute and professor of biology at MIT, received his doctorate in medicine from the University of Munich in 1967. He came to the Whitehead from the University of Hamburg in Germany, where he was head of the Department of Tumor Virology at the Heinrich Pette Institute. In 1996, he was awarded the Boehringer Mannheim Molecular Bioanalytics Prize.

Peter Mombaerts is Associate Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Developmental Biology and Neurogenetics at The Rockefeller University in New York. He received his M.D. in 1987 from the Catholic University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, and his PhD in Biology in 1992 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. His research interest is developmental neurobiology. The approach he takes is genetic manipulation of mice, including transgenesis, targeted mutagenesis and cloning by nuclear transfer. He has a long-standing collaboration with Teruhiko Wakayama and Anthony Perry, who developed mouse cloning technology. Dr. Mombaerts has won numerous awards including an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, which he received in 1997 from President Clinton.

Virginia E. Papaioannou is Professor of Genetics and Development at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. She received her BSc in Biological Sciences in 1967 at the University of California at Davis and her PhD in Genetics in 1972 from the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Dr. Papaioannou is also the Senior Editor for Differentiation and Associate Editor for Molecular Reproduction and Development. Previously, she was the Director of the Course on Molecular Embryology of the Mouse at Cold Springs Harbor, NY and was a professor at Tufts University School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. She is the author or co-author of more than 90 original articles and reviews.

Eugene Pergament is a medical geneticist and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University Medical School. He received a bachelor of science degree from Yale University, a Doctor of Philosophy degree in genetics from Purdue University, and a Medical Degree from the University of Chicago. Dr. Pergament is certified in clinical genetics and cytogenetics by the American Board of Medical Genetics and is a founding member of the American College of Medical Genetics. He serves on numerous local, regional, and national committees and is a past member of the Executive Board of the Organization for Teratogen Information Services.

John A. Robertson holds the Vinson and Wilkins Chair at the University of Texas School of Law at Austin. He received his BA from Dartmouth in 1964 and his JD from Harvard University in 1968. He has written and lectured widely on law and bioethical issues. He is the author of two books in bioethics--The Rights of the Critically Ill (1983) and Children of Choice: Freedom and the New Reproductive Technologies (1994), and numerous articles on reproductive rights, genetics, organ transplantation, and human experimentation. He has served on or been a consultant to many national bioethics advisory bodies, and he is currently Co-Chair of the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Eric A. Schon is Professor of Genetics and Development in Neurobiology at Columbia University. He received his BS in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University in 1968 and his PhD in Biological Chemistry from the University of Cincinnati in 1982. He did his postdoctoral research in Biochemistry in 1982/83 at Harvard University. Dr. Schon’s research has included or now includes Mitochondrial DNA rearrangements in Neuromuscular Disease and Cellular and Animal Models of Mitochondrial Disease. He has published material, much of it focusing on mitochondrial genetics, in over 150 publications. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is on the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Muscular Dystrophy Association from 1995 to 1998.

Alan Trounson is Deputy Director in the Institute of Reproduction and Development at Monash Institute in Australia. His career as an agriculture graduate doing, in his own words, "cowey and sheepey things", then went on to pioneer IVF technology with Professor Karl Wood - and the rest is history. He received his BSc in the School of Wool and Pastoral Sciences from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and his PhD Agriculture from Sydney University in 1974. He has received numerous awards including the Ford Foundation Senior Research Fellowship. He has authored or coauthored numerous reviews and book chapters and over 200 journal articles.

André Van Steirteghem is Dean and Professor of Embryology and Reproductive Biology at the Medical School of the Dutch-speaking Brussels Free University (VUB). He is chairman of the Department of Radioimmunology and Reproductive Biology at the VUB University Hospital and the Laboratory and Scientific Director of the Centre for Reproductive Medicine. In the last two decades the VUB Centre for Reproductive Medicine has developed into one of the largest centres of Assisted Reproduction Technology worldwide. Major developments at the Centre included the first clinical application of Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), the largest prospective follow-up study of children born after ART and one of the largest programs of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD).

Ian Wilmut is the director of the Roslin Institute in Scotland. He is a Scottish embryologist who in 1996, was the first to clone a mammal, a Finn Dorset lamb named Dolly, from fully differentiated adult mammary cells. Dr. Wilmut's work, published in 1997, pushed the concept of cloning into the news and public debate. Dr. Wilmut was born in Hampton Lucey, England, attended the University of Nottingham for his undergraduate work. In 1971 he received a PhD in animal genetic engineering from Darwin College of University of Cambridge. In 1974, he joined the Animal Research Breeding Station in Scotland, which is now known as the Roslin Institute, and has conducted research there ever since.

Ryuzo Yanagimachi is Professor of Anatomy and Reproductive Biology at the University of Hawaii Medical School. His research focuses on assisted reproduction in mammals. He cloned the first male mammal from adult cells (tail tip). He also developed the ‘honolulu’ technique of injecting donor nuclei taken from cumulus cells (a differentiated population of ovarian granulosa cells that undergo terminal differentiation and arrest in G0 in response to the midcycle surge of LH) thus introducing a ‘delay’ that seems to make blastocyst formation more likely. Also made clones of a clone in mice.

Panayiotis Michael Zavos is a Professor Emeritus of Reproductive Physiology-Adrology at the University of Kentucky, Founder, Director and Chief Andrologist of the Adrology Institute of America, co-founder and co-director of the Kentucky Center for Reproductive Medicine and IVF, as well as the president and CEO of ZDL, Inc., A private corporation that markets infertility products and technologies worldwide. He received his BS in Biology-Chemistry in 1970, his MS in Biology-Physiology in 1972 and Education Specialist in Science (EdS) in 1976 from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas. Dr. Zavos received his PhD in Reproductive Physiology and Statistics in 1978 from the University of Minnesota in Twin Cities, Minnesota.

Irving L. Weissman (panel chair) is Karel and Avice Beekhuis Professor of Cancer Biology, professor of pathology and developmental biology at Stanford University. Dr. Weissman was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Amgen (1981-1989), DNAX (1981-1992), and T-Cell Sciences (1988-1992). He was a co-founder of SyStemix and was chairman of its Scientific Advisory Board and a member of its Board of Directors in 1988-1997. He also co-founded StemCells, Inc. and is a Director and Chair of its scientific advisory board. His main research interests are hematopoietic stem cells, lymphocyte differentiation, lymphocyte homing receptors, and phylogeny of the immune system. Dr. Weissman is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the recipient of several awards, including the Leukemia Society of America de Villier's International Achievement Award, the E. Donnall Thomas Prize from the American Society of Hematology and the Montana Conservationist of the Year Award.

Arthur L. Beaudet is Chair of the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, and Professor in the department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Department of Pediatrics, and Department of Cell Biology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. He received his BA from Holy Cross and his MD from Yale University School of Medicine. His area of research interests includes studying the molecular abnormalities causing Prader Willi syndrome (PWS) and Angelman syndrome (AS).

Patricia K. Donahoe is Chief of Pediatric Services and Director of Pediatric Surgical Research Laboratories at Massachusetts General Hospital where she has worked virtually her entire career. She is also a faculty member of the graduate program in the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School. She is currently Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at St. Jude’s Medical Center and has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and of the NICHD National Advisory Council. Dr. Donahoe received her MD from Columbia University in New York City, New York, and her BS from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts. She has had her writings and research published in over 200 publications on sex differentiation and the study of Müllerian Inhibiting Substance, a member of the TGFß family, as a potential anticancer agent against human ovarian carcinomas. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and of the Institute of Medicine.

David J. Galas is Vice President, Chief Academic Officer and Norris Professor of

Applied Life Science at Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences (KGI), Claremont California. Before coming to help found and develop KGI, a new research and educational institution in the applied life sciences, Dr. Galas served as president and chief scientific officer of Seattle-based Chiroscience R & D Inc., a genomics and drug discovery company. This company was formed through the acquisition of Darwin Molecular Corporation, which Dr. Galas helped start in 1993. He served as vice president of research and development. Prior to his involvement in the biotechnology industry, Dr. Galas served as director for Health and Environmental Research at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Research, where he headed the DOE’s Human Genome Project from 1990 to 1993. He received his PhD in physics from the University of California, Davis-Livermore. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of California, Berkeley. He has also held positions at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and the University of California’s Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.

Judith G. Hall is a clinical geneticist and pediatrician. She trained at Wellesley College, the University of Washington School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins Hospital. She is presently Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia based at Children’s & Women’s Health Centre of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Her research interests are in the areas of human congenital anomalies including neural tube defects, the genetics of short stature, newly recognized mechanisms of disease such as mosaicism and imprinting, the natural history of genetic disorders, the genetics of connective tissue disorders such as arthrogryposis, dwarfism, and in monozygotic twins. She has described numerous new syndromes and defined the natural history of many disorders. She has published over 250 original articles, 60 chapters and 5 books. The book she co-edited on human malformations, received the award for best medical book published in 1993 by the Association of American Publishers.

Brigid L.M. Hogan is an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Hortense B. Ingram Professor in the Department of Cell Biology at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. She obtained her PhD from Cambridge University, England, and carried out postdoctoral training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before moving to the United States, she was head of the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology, first at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and then at the National Institute of Medical Research in London. Dr. Hogan is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and the Institute of Medicine.

Robert B. Jaffe is Fred Gellert Professor of Reproductive Medicine and Biology and Director, Center for Reproductive Sciences, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. He received his MD in Medicine from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and an MS in Endrocrinology from University of Colorado, Denver. His expertise and research interests are in the fields of endocrinology and metabolism and obstetrics and gynecology. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and a member of the Institute of Medicine.

Edward R.B. McCabe serves as Professor and Executive Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at UCLA School of Medicine. He is responsible for establishing the UCLA Children's Hospital (re-named Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA), where he currently serves as Physician-in-Chief. Dr. McCabe was a member of the University of Colorado faculty, where he served as Director of the Metabolic Diseases Clinic beginning in 1977. At UCLA, Dr. McCabe has established and continues to direct the Pediatric Research, Innovation, and Mentoring Experience (PRIME) Program, which is supported by NICHD funding and encourages human and molecular development research. His memberships include American College of Medical Genetics (President 2001-2002), American Board of Medical Genetics. He has served both as a member and chair on numerous advisory and professional society committees. Dr. McCabe received his BS in Biology from Johns Hopkins University, and his PhD and M.D. from the University of Southern California.

Anne McLaren is Principal Research Associate of The Wellcome Trust and Research Campaign, Institute of Cancer and Developmental Biology at the University of Cambridge. She did her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Oxford University. She was Director of the Medical Research Council's Mammalian Development Unit in London for 18 years until 1992. For the previous 15 years she worked for the Agriculture Research Council, in C.H. Waddington's Institute of Animal Genetics in Edinburgh. She was a member of the UK Government's Warnock Committee on Human Fertilisation and Embryology, served on the Voluntary (later Interim) Licensing Authority for human in vitro fertilisation and embryology, and is now a member of the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority that regulates IVF and human embryo research in the UK. She chaired the scientific and Technical Advisory Group of WHO's Human Reproduction Programme and has been a member of the Nuffield foundation's Bioethics Council. She is a member of the European Group on Ethics that advises the European Commission on social and ethical implications of new technologies.

Gerald M. Rubin is Vice President for Biomedical Research at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is also Professor of Genetics at the University of California, Berkeley, and Adjunct Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. He received his BS degree in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his PhD degree in molecular biology from the University of Cambridge, England. Dr. Rubin’s postdoctoral work was done at Stanford University with David Hogness. He has held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and the Carnegie Institution of Washington. Dr. Rubin is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and counts among his honors the American Chemical Society Eli Lilly Award in biological chemistry.

Mark Siegler, M.D., FACP, is the Lindy Bergman Professor at the University of Chicago, Professor in the Department of Medicine, and the Director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. An honors graduate of Princeton University, he received his medical degree in 1967 from the University of Chicago. He was intern, resident, and Chief Resident in Medicine at the University of Chicago Hospitals, followed by a year of advanced training at the Hammersmith-Royal Postgraduate Hospital in London, England. In 1984, the University of Chicago established the Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, one of the first in the nation devoted to this clinical specialty, and appointed Dr. Siegler as its Director. He has practiced general medicine for more than thirty years and is one of the few physicians who combines expertise in medical ethics with an active medical practice. A prolific author, Dr. Siegler has written and co-authored more than 150 journal articles, fifty book chapters, five books, and other publications.

Dr. Bruce Alberts, President of the National Academy of Sciences, is a respected biochemist recognized for his work in both biochemistry and molecular biology. He is noted particularly for his extensive study of the protein complexes that allow chromosomes to be replicated, as required for a living cell to divide. Bruce is a past Chair of the Commission on Life Sciences. He has served on the faculties of Princeton University, and as Vice Chair and Chair of the UCSF Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. Being committed to the improvement of science education, he has dedicated much of his time to education projects in San Francisco elementary schools.

Kenneth I. Shine is President of the Institute of Medicine, and Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. He is UCLA School of Medicine's immediate past Dean and Provost for Medical Services. He was Director of the Coronary Care Unit, Chief of the Cardiology Division, and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine. Dr. Shine has served as Chairman of the Council of Deans of the AAMC, and was President of the American Heart Association. His research interests include metabolic events in the heart muscle, the relation of behavior to heart disease, and emergency medicine.

Maxine F. Singer is president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (Washington, DC), chair of the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Pubic Policy, and is an eminent biochemist whose wide-ranging research on RNA and DNA has greatly advanced scientific understanding of viral and human genes. Dr. Singer received her bachelor's degree from Swarthmore College (1952) and her PhD from Yale University (1957). She worked at the National Institutes of Health as a research biochemist in the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases until 1975, studying the synthesis and structure of RNA. In 1975, she moved to the National Cancer Institute. She received the Distinguished Presidential Rank Award, the highest honor given to a civil servant, and the National Medal of Science in 1991. Dr. Singer is also Director of Perlegen Sciences, Inc. (a new biotech start-up).

Corey S. Goodman is Evan Rauch Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. He is also Director of the Wills Neuroscience Institute, whose mission is to build bridges across traditional academic boundaries from genes and genomes to brain and behavior. His expertise is in developmental neurobiology using genetic analysis to unravel the mechanisms that control the wiring of the brain. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1995, and in January 2001 became Chair of the Board on Life Sciences of the NAS. He also serves as President of the McKnight Endowment Fund for neuroscience. He is co-founder of two biotechnology companies--Exelixis and Renovis--and currently is Cochair of the Renovis Scientific Advisory Board. He received his BS in biology from Stanford University and his PhD in developmental neurobiology from the University of California, Berkeley.

A number of organizations have indicated plans to clone a person. In order for a debate on human cloning to be productive, we must first gain a better understanding of the relevant scientific and medical issues. The Academies propose to undertake a study that would focus on these issues.

The cloning of humans also raises many serious ethical and legal issues. The study will seek to provide an understanding of the ethical issues specifically associated with human participant research. Such an understanding can help to inform the ethical debate that should be carried out by a wider cross section of society.

A joint panel of the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP) and the Board on Life Sciences (BLS) is charged to prepare a short report, in a highly readable format, that responds to the following questions

What is meant by cloning of animals including humans? What are its purposes? How does it differ from stem cell research?
What is the state of science on cloning of animals? How does this science apply to cloning of people?
To what extent can our knowledge of assisted reproductive technologies inform the debate on human cloning?
What scientific and medical criteria should be used to evaluate the safety of cloning a person?
What issues of responsible conduct of research are raised by the prospect of cloning a person?
What process should be used to evaluate future scientific and medical evidence regarding cloning a person?
Based on the current scientific and medical evidence, should there be a moratorium on the cloning of a person? What are the implications of doing so? Of not doing so? If a moratorium is enacted, when should the issue be reevaluated?

This glossary was developed by the panel from several sources including the National Institute of Health’s report “Stem Cells: Scientific Progress and Future Research Directions” the National Bioethics Advisory Committee (NBAC) report “Cloning Human Beings.” Comments are welcome. Send to humancloning@nas.edu by August 14,2001.

Adult stem cell – An undifferentiated cell found in a differentiated tissue that can renew itself and (with certain limitations) differentiate to yield all the specialized cell types of the tissue from which it originated.

Allogeneic transplantation – Cell, tissue, or organ transplants from one member of a species to another genetically different member of the same species.

Amnion – The innermost intrauterine membrane around the fetus and the amniotic fluid.

Amniocentesis – A prenatal test performed by inserting a thin needle through the abdomen into the uterus and withdrawing a small amount of amniotic fluid (the fluid around the fetus) for lab testing. The fluid contains skin cells from the fetus that can be tested for chromosomal abnormalities, and the fluid itself can be tested for biochemical abnormalities. Amniocentesis is usually performed during the 15th week of pregnancy or later.

Andrology – The science dealing with the structures, functions and disorders of the male reproductive system.

Asexual reproduction – Reproduction without union of sperm and egg, as in the budding of yeast cells or the simple division of one-celled organisms such as bacteria. Asexual reproduction usually results in offspring that are genetically identical to the original or parent organism.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) – Any fertility treatments or procedures that include laboratory handling of eggs or embryos, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Autologous transplant – Transplanted tissue derived from the intended recipient of the transplant. Such a transplant helps avoid complications of immune rejection.

Blastocyst – A preimplantation embryo (after about 3 days of development in the mouse; about 5 days in humans) of 30-150 cells. The blastocyst consists of a sphere made up of an outer layer of cells (the trophectoderm), a fluid-filled cavity (the blastocoel), and a cluster of cells on the interior (the inner cell mass). The inner cell mass gives rise to what will become the fetus. At the time of implantation the mouse blastocyst is made up of about 70 trophoblast cells and 30 ICM cells.

Blastula – An early stage in the development of an ovum consisting of a hollow sphere of cells enclosing the blastocoel. Also called a blastocyst (see above).

Bone marrow – The soft, living tissue that fills most bone cavities and contains hematopoietic stem cells, from which all red and white blood cells develop. The bone marrow also contains mesenchymal stem cells that a number of cell types' come from, including chondrocytes, which produce cartilage.

Bone marrow stem cell (BMSC) – One of at least two types of multipotent stem cells: hematopoietic stem cell and mesenchymal stem cell.

Bone marrow transplantation– Transplantation of bone marrow from one individual to another. Autologous bone marrow transplantation is a process in which a patient’s bone marrow is withdrawn and preserved, then injected back into the patient to restore the production of healthy blood and immune cells by the bone marrow. This strategy is often used in patients with certain types of cancer who have undergone radiation therapy or chemotherapy that destroys the bone marrow cells.

Cavitation – A process that occurs during the formation of the blastocyst and establishes the blastocoel within the blastocyst.

Cell cycle – The orderly sequence of events by which the cell duplicates its contents and divides into two. Cell division is regulated by numerous molecular signals, each dependent on the other.

Chimera – An organism composed of cells derived from at least two genetically different individuals.

Chorion – The multi-layered, outermost fetal membrane. As pregnancy progresses, part of the chorion becomes the placenta.

Chorionic Villus Sampling – A prenatal test performed by removing a small sample of the placenta from the uterus with either a catheter (a thin flexible tube) or a needle. This tissue sample can then be tested for genetic abnormalities. Chorionic villus sampling is usually done between the 10th and 12th weeks of pregnancy.

Chromosomes – Nucleic acid-protein structures in the nucleus of a cell. Chromosomes contain the DNA, the carrier of hereditary information, and thus the genes. Genes are working sub-units of DNA that carry the genetic code for specific proteins, interspersed with large amounts of DNA of unknown function. A normal human body cell contains 46 chromosomes; a normal human gamete, 23 chromosomes.

Chromosome banding – A technique for staining chromosomes so that bands appear in a unique pattern particular to the chromosome. This technique is used to identify each chromosome visually under a microscope and to determine if there are any abnormalities in the chromosomes, such as broken or missing sections.

Cleavage – The process of cell division in the very early embryo before it becomes a blastocyst.

Cleavage pattern – The pattern in which cells in a very early embryo divide; each species of organism displays a characteristic cleavage pattern which can be observed under a microscope; departure from the characteristic cleavage pattern usually indicates that an embryo is abnormal, and therefore cleavage pattern is used as a criterion for preimplantation screening of embryos

Clone – 1) an exact genetic replica of a DNA molecule, cell, tissue, organ, or an entire plant or

Cloning – The production of a clone. (for the purpose of this meeting, creating an individual animal, or person that derives its nuclear genes from a diploid cell taken from an embryo, fetus, or born individual of the same species).

Culture – This is the process of growing cells or embryos in a laboratory.

Cytoplasm – The contents of a cell other than the nucleus. Cytoplasm consists of a fluid containing numerous structures, known as organelles, that carry out essential cell functions.

Decidual cells – A cellular matrix that first surrounds an implanted embryo and later occupies most of the endometrium.

Differentiation – The process whereby an unspecialized early embryonic cell or stem cell acquires the features of a specialized cell such as a heart, liver, or muscle cell.

Diploid – A cell or tissue having two chromosome sets, as opposed to the haploid situation of gametes, which have only one chromosome set.

DNA – Deoxyribonucleic acid, found primarily in the nucleus of cells (some DNA is also found in the mitochondrion). DNA is the genetic material that carries the genes and thus the instructions for making all the structures and materials the body needs to function.

DNA methylation – A type of chemical modification of DNA that regulates gene expression.

Donor Insemination (DI) or Artificial Insemination Donor (AID) – depositing sperm from a male donor inside a female reproductive tract for the purpose of achieving pregnancy.

Embryo – 1) the earliest stage of development, from the single cell to the completion of

2) a group of cells arising from the egg that has the potential to develop into a complete

organism. In medical terms, the word “embryo” usually refers to the developing

Embryoid bodies (EBs) – Clumps of cellular structures that arise when embryonic stem cells are cultured. Embryoid bodies contain tissue from all three of the germ layers: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. Embryoid bodies are not part of normal development and occur only in in-vitro conditions.

Embryonic carcinoma (EC) cells – A type of pluripotent stem cell derived from teratocarcinoma (usually a testis tumor).

Embryonic disk – A group of cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, which later develops into an embryo. The disc initially contains two cell layers, but after gastrulation consists of three germ layers known as the endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm.

Embryonic germ (EG) cells – Pluripotent stem cell lines derived from the primitive germline cells that migrate, during early development, to the future gonads to form the progenitors of egg or sperm cells. Their properties are similar to those of ES cells, but there may be differences while they are migrating to the gonads due to changes in DNA methylation that occur in the germline of the cells.

Embryo splitting – When an early stage embryo is separated into two or more embryos with identical genetic makeup, essentially creating identical twins or higher multiples.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells – Primitive (undifferentiated) cultured cells from the embryo that have the potential to become a wide variety of specialized cell types, that is, are pluripotent. They are derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst stage of development.

Embryonic stem (ES) cell lines – Populations of dividing cells established from embyronic stem cells and cultured in the laboratory. Within embryonic cell lines are cells that can produce more embryonic stem cells, or under conditions of differentiation, give rise to collections of cells that include most, if not all cell types that can be found in a postimplantation embryo, fetus, or developed organism, but not trophoblast or placenta. To date no embryonic stem cells cultured in vitro can give rise to developed organisms or even developed organs.

Endoderm – Definitive endoderm is one of the three germ layers formed during gastrulation; it gives rise to organs such as the lungs and digestive organs. The primitive endoderm is the lower layer of the blastocyst that gives rise to fetal membranes.

Enucleation – This is a process whereby the nuclear material of a cell is removed, leaving only the cytoplasm. When applied to an egg, the removal of the maternal chromosomes, which are not surrounded by a nuclear membrane.

Epiblast – Gives rise to the ectoderm, mesoderm, and definitive endoderm. The mesoderm displaces the hypoblast cells and forms the definitive endodermal cell layer on the inner surface of the embryonic disk.

Extraembryonic tissues – Intrauterine tissues that support the embryo’s placenta, umbilical cord, and amniotic sac.

Fetus – 1) Legally, the developing organism from the completion of implantation in the uterus up to the time of birth.

2) In medical terms, refers to the developing human from 8 weeks to birth. At 8 weeks the

embryo is 2.0 –3.0 cm long and weighs 1 – 4.5 g. The rudiments of the internal organs

Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) – A technique that can be used for prenatal diagnosis, in which specifically designed fluorescent molecules are used to “light up” certain genes or sections of chromosomes to make them visible under a microscope. The fluorescence makes even small abnormalities in the chromosomes visible.

Gamete – A haploid reproductive cell (i.e. egg or sperm), having only 23 chromosomes in the human.

Gene – A functional unit of heredity that is a segment of DNA located in a specific site on a chromosome. A gene directs the formation of an enzyme of other protein or RNA molecule.

Gene expression – The process by which proteins and occasionally RNAs are made from the instructions encoded in genes. Alterations in gene expression change the function of the cell, tissue, organ or whole organism, and sometimes result in observable characteristics associated with a particular gene.

Genital Ridge – The embryonic sex organ before it becomes a definitive testis or ovary.

Genomic imprinting – A biochemical phenomenon that determines, for certain specific genes, which one of the pair of identical genes, the mother’s or the father’s, will be active in the offspring.

Germline cells; Germ cell – A sperm or egg, or a cell that can become a sperm or egg. All other body cells are called somatic cells.

Gestation – The period of development of an organism from fertilization of the ovum until birth.

Gonad – The reproductive organ that contains the developing sperm or eggs, where the germline is first established.

Graft-versus-host disease– A condition that occurs following bone marrow transplantation in which the donor-derived T cells attack the host’s tissues.

Haploid – Refers to a gamete having one chromosome set, as opposed to the diploid situation of somatic cells or tissues, where there are two chromosome sets.

Hematopoietic cell transplantation – Transplantation of cells with blood-forming potential, usually bone marrow. Hematopoietic stem cells are the only cells that provide rapid and sustained reconstitution of blood formation. Hematopoietic stem cells are found in adult bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, fetal liver, and mobilized peripheral blood (the nucleated cell fraction of blood after treatment of the donor with agents that increase the passage of hematopoietic stem cells from bone marrow to blood).

Hematopoietic stem cell– A stem cell from which all red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets develop.

Informed consent – A process in which a patient gives written consent (agreement) to undergo a medical procedure after having been provided with information about the nature of the procedure, risks, potential benefits, alternatives, etc. by his/her doctor

Immortal cell – A cell that is capable of an unlimited number of cell divisions, and is therefore, self-replenishing

Implantation – The process by which an embryo becomes attached to the inside of the uterus. (7-14 days in humans)

Imprinting – A process whereby DNA is ‘marked’ with a chemical signature. This signature instructs the cell how and when to express the gene. Often imprinting results in gene expression from only one copy of a gene – either the maternal or paternal copy.

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection – An assisted reproductive method in which a sperm is injected directly into an unfertilized egg using a microscopic needle; this procedure is used in cases of severe male infertility.

IRB (Institutional Review Board) – An administrative body within an institution (such as a hospital) established to protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects recruited to participate in research activities conducted under the auspices of that institution. The IRB has the authority to approve, require modifications in, or disapprove all research activities that fall within its jurisdiction, as specified by both the federal regulations and local institutional policy.

In vitro– Literally, “in glass;” in a laboratory dish or test tube; an artificial environment.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) – An assisted reproduction technique in which fertilization is accomplished outside the body.

Inner cell mass – The cluster of cells inside the blastocyst. These cells give rise to the embryonic disk of the later embryo and, ultimately, the fetus and amnion.

Karyotype – The full set of chromosomes of a cell arranged with respect to size, shape, and number.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) – A growth factor necessary for maintaining mouse embryonic stem cells in a proliferative, undifferentiated state.

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) – A group of genes that code for cell-surface histocompatibility antigens. These antigens are the primary reason why organ and tissue transplants from incompatible donors’ fail because of immune rejection.

Male infertility – Condition where male patient is infertile for reasons such as very low sperm count, sperm that cannot swim properly, or sperm that are unable to penetrate the egg

Meiosis – A process whereby cells divide to produce eggs, sperm, or other cells that contain half the number of chromosomes found in the somatic cells. During fertilization, the nuclei of the sperm and ovum fuse and produce a zygote with the full chromosome complements.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) –Self-renewing stromal cells from a variety of tissues that include in their progency fibroblasts, bone osteocytes, fat cells, etc.

Mesoderm – The middle germ layer of the embryonic disk, which consists of a population of cells give rise to bone, muscle, blood cells, and connective tissue.

Methylation – Addition of a chemical tag called a methyl group (-CH3) to DNA. Methylation can be a signal for a gene or a section of a chromosome to turn off gene expression and become inactive or “silent.”

Mitochondrion – A cellular structure in the cytoplasm that provides energy to the cell. The mitochondrion contains 37 genes on a circular mitochondrial DNA, as compared with about 35,000 genes in the nuclear DNA.

Mitochondrial heteroplasmy – Normally, mitochondria are inherited from the mother and are usually all of one genetic type. With cloning, a mixture of mitochondria from both the donor cell and recipient egg may result.

Morula – The preimplantation embryo from the 2 cell to 32 cell stage (Day1 to Day 3 after fertilization in human). Individual cells are called blastomeres and they are loosely clustered together. At the 32 cell stage the cells adhere to each other more tightly and the morula becomes “compacted”.

Multipotent stem cells – Stem cells whose progeny are of multiple differentiated cell types, but usually all within a particular tissue, organ, or physiological system. For example, blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells are single multipotent cells that can produce progeny that include HSC, blood cell-restricted oligopotent progenitors, and all cell types and elements (e.g., platelets) that are normal components of the blood.

Mutation – A change in DNA that alters a gene and thus the gene’s product, leading in some cases to deformity or disease. Mutations can occur spontaneously during cell division or can be triggered by environmental stresses such as sunlight, radiation, and chemicals.

Mutational load/burden – Accumulated mutations in an individual genome over time

Ooplasmic Transfer – An assisted reproduction method that essentially enhances the defective (egg cytoplasm) from the patient’s egg with healthy cytoplasm from a donor egg. This method may restore fertility to older women and women with genetically defective mitochondria. This procedure can be done in one of two ways – 1) The nucleus from the patient’s egg is transferred into an enucleated donor egg, and then the egg is fertilized with sperm in vitro, or 2) Cytoplasm from a healthy donor egg is injected into the patient’s egg along with sperm, which results in fertilization.

Ovarian follicle – An external, fluid-filled portion of the ovary in which oocytes mature before ovulation.

Oviduct – The passage through which the ova travel from the ovary into the uterus.

PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) – A technique for making multiple copies of a specific stretch of DNA or RNA; can be used to test for mutations in DNA. For example, if a stretch of DNA is mutated, the copies of it made by PCR may be longer or shorter than normal

Placenta – The spongy structure in the uterus that serves to anchor the fetus, and from which the fetus derives its nourishment and oxygen.

Plasticity – The ability of stem cells from one adult tissue to generate the differentiated types of another tissue.

Pluripotent stem cells (PSC) – Stem cells that include in their progeny all cell types that can be found in a postimplantation embryo, fetus, or developed organism, but not embryonic components of the trophoblast and placenta (these are usually called extra-embryonic).

Precursor Cells – In fetal or adult tissues, these are partly differentiated cells that divide and give rise to differentiated cells. Also known as progenitor cells (see below).

Pre-implantation embryo – The very early, free-floating embryo, from the time the egg is fertilized until implantation in the mother’s womb is complete. Also, fertilized eggs (zygotes) and products of somatic cell transfer into an empty egg and all of the developmental stages up to, but not beyond, the blastocyst stage.

Pre-implantation screening or preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) – Before an in vitro-fertilized embryo is implanted in a woman’s uterus, it can be screened for specific genetic mutations that are known to cause certain genetic diseases, or for chromosomal abnormalities. One or more cells are removed from the embryo for testing.

Prenatal diagnosis – Detection of abnormalities and disease conditions while a fetus is developing inside the uterus. Many techniques for prenatal diagnosis (e.g. amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling) require sampling cells from the developing fetus, or its placenta.

Primary germ layers – The three initial embryonic germ layers–endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm–from which all other somatic tissue-types develop.

Primitive streak – The initial band of cells from which the embryo begins to develop. The primitive streak establishes and reveals the embryo’s head-tail and left-right orientations.

Progenitor cells – Can differentiate into more than one type of mature cells, but lack the capacity to self-renew. Progenitor cells are derived from stem cells and are intermediate to the production of mature cells.

Reprogramming – To artificially change a cell nucleus from one developmental state to another, e.g., from a mature adult differentiated cell nucleus to an egg nucleus.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) – A chemical that is similar in structure to DNA. One of its main functions is to translate the genetic code of DNA into structural proteins.

Ribosome – Any of the RNA- and protein-rich cytoplasmic organelles that are sites of protein synthesis.

Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT) – Transferring the nucleus from a donor somatic cell to an unfertilized egg cell from which the maternal chromosomes have been removed.

Somatic cells – Any cell of a plant or animal other than a germ cell or germ cell precursor.

Stem cells – Non- specialized cells that have the capacity to 1) self-renew and 2) differentiate to more mature cells.

Surrogacy – A legal arrangement whereby a woman (the surrogate) agrees to become pregnant for another woman with the intention of surrendering the child at birth. There are two types of surrogacy – genetic (the surrogate has donated her egg to the pregnancy) and gestational (the surrogate has no genetic relationship to the fetus.)

T cells – A type of white blood cell that is born in the thymus and that is crucial for immunity to infection and to transplanted allogeneic tissues.

Telomerase – An enzyme that is composed of a catalytic protein component and an RNA template and that synthesizes DNA at the ends of chromosomes.

Telomere – The end of a chromosome, associated with a characteristic DNA sequence that is replicated in a special way.

Tissue culture – Growth of tissue in vitro on an artificial nutrient medium for experimental research.

Tolerance – A state of specific immunologic unresponsiveness. Individuals are normally tolerant to their own cells and tissues. Autoimmune diseases occur when tolerance fails.

Totipotent cells – Have unlimited developmental capability. The totipotent cells of the very early embryo have the capacity to differentiate into extra embryonic membranes and tissues, the embryo, and all postembryonic tissues and organs.

Transcription – Making an RNA copy from a sequence of DNA (a gene). Transcription is the first step in gene expression.

Transdifferentiation – The ability of a particular cell of one tissue, organ or system, including stem or progenitor cells, to differentiate into a cell type characteristic of another tissue, organ, or.

Transgene – A gene that has been incorporated from one cell or organism into another and passed on to successive generations.

Translation – The process of forming a protein molecule at a ribosomal site of protein synthesis from information contained in messenger RNA.

Trophectoderm – The outer layer of the developing blastocyst that will ultimately form the embryonic side of the placenta.

Trophoblast – The extraembryonic tissue responsible for negotiating implantation, developing into the placenta, and controlling the exchange of oxygen and metabolites between mother and embryo.

Unipotent stem cells – Stem cells that divide as well as give rise to a single mature cell type; e.g., spermatogenic stem cells.

X inactivation – The normal inactivation of one of the two X-chromosomes in females.

X chromosome -- One of the two sex chromosomes, the other is the Y chromosome. Females have two X-chromosomes and males have one X and one Y chromosome.

Zona pellucida – A thick, transparent noncellular layer that surrounds and protects the oocyte.

Zygote – A cell formed by the union of male and female germ cells (sperm and egg, respectively).

ALS – A myotrophic lateral sclerosis. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.