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Commentary

Nature Cell Biology 9, 988–992 (1 September 2007) | doi:10.1038/ncb436

Human|[ndash]|animal cytoplasmic hybrid embryos, mitochondria, and an energetic debate

Justin St John & Robin Lovell-Badge

What's all the fuss about? There is active debate over the use of animal oocytes as vehicles for the generation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) after somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT; commonly referred to as therapeutic cloning). It is hoped that such cell lines will be valuable for several areas of fundamental research, including improving our understanding of genetic disease, as well as providing avenues for therapy.