Critics are charging that the work contemplated under the license will involve killing innocent human beings, while proponents of the research deny that characterization and speak of the potential for embyonic stem cell research to prevent and treat illnesses, and possibly save lives.

The license reportedly will allow Professor Ian Wilmut, the scientist who cloned Dolly the sheep, along with other researchers at the Institute, to study motor neuron disease -- in particular, in those patients whose condition cannot be linked to the genes already identified as causing it.

Strictly Defined Research Guidelines

The Institute will use the cloning technique to study stem cells made with the genetic material from patients with motor neuron disease. Using these embryonic stem cells, researchers can study its development in patients who do not have the genes that currently are known to cause it. While these embryonic stem cells would not be used to correct the disease, the study of these cells could help develop future treatments.