"It is really amazing," said Dr. Xiangzhong Yang, a professor in the Department of Animal Science and one of the nation's lead researchers in cloning. "Only eight years ago, most people didn't even know cloning was possible," he said. "But now, many animals have been cloned; that is not the problem. Making an animal is not of interest to us. The question is how do we use that technology."
To that end, Dr. Yang and the university are moving on to the next frontier in genetic science with the opening of a $10.6 million center at the Storrs campus to study regenerative biology.
The dedication of the center — the Advanced Technology Laboratory in the Bio Science Complex — on Monday marked UConn's attempt to become a major player in the highly competitive field.
But just as cloning touched off a debate on the moral implications of the science, regenerative biology relies heavily on another hot-button issue: stem cell technology.
While the new center will focus its research on animal stem cells, Dr. Yang said that each member of its team of experts has a specific area of focus. This means that if the political environment allows, they can shift to studying human stem cells without missing a beat, he said.
Dr. Yang said that he hoped eventually to take what they have learned about therapeutic cloning in animals and apply it to humans, along the way finding clues about how to treat such degenerative diseases as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
On a tour of the new center, a fast-talking Dr. Yang — wearing a tie adorned with pigs that he said were in honor of some cloned pigs that recently died — explained the science.
Stem cells have been described as the universal clay, able to grow into skin, blood, bones or any of the body's replaceable tissues. Scientists say that bits of matter as small as the tip of a needle, extracted from human embryos, are the most promising because they have the capacity for infinite cell renewal.
That, of course, is where the controversy lies. The process requires the destruction of embryos, usually left over from in vitro fertilization attempts.
In his first direct television address to the American public after his inauguration, President Bush said that his administration would limit such research to those embryonic stem cell lines that already existed.
Today Dr. James F. Battey, chairman of a stem cell task force at the National Institutes of Health, acknowledged that the policy restricted the work scientists could do, but said the N.I.H. was committed to advancing stem cell research.
Speaking at a symposium here this morning, Dr. Battey said, "There is a lot of basic science to be done that can be done with available stem cell lines."
Dr. Yang said their program would sidestep worries about human embryonic stem cells by focusing on animal models for now. But ultimately, he said, he hopes to apply what has been learned about animal cloning to human stem cell research.
The type of cloning Dr. Yang has studied is called therapeutic cloning. This method involves taking cells from an adult animal, usually skin cells, and inserting them into an unfertilized egg that has had its nucleus removed.
Instead of implanting the embryo in a female's womb, as was done in the case of the cows to produce exact genetic replicas, scientists would extract stem cells from the embryo that could then grow into tissues that are an exact genetic match for the patient.
"A few years from now, after the government approves such work, we will be ready," Dr. Yang said. He acknowledged that many critics feel his research into cloning is akin to man playing god. But, he said, "I don't think the U.S. government and the U.S. people can afford to lose their No. 1 place in this science."
