BEIJING, June 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Britain's reproductive science regulator is considering the country's first request to clone human embryos for scientific research, CRIENGLISH.com reported Friday.

    A team at Newcastle University says they have asked for an official license to create embryos from which stem cells would be harvested for medical research.

    The researchers hope eventually to create insulin-producing cells that could be transplanted into diabetic patients.

    They say the cloning of embryos will not lead to the cloning of babies.

    The reproductive authority has made no immediate announcement of a decision.

    Britain was the first country in the world to legalize therapeutic cloning, in 2001.

    (CRIENGLISH.com)