Scientists in South Korea have cloned 30 human embryos to obtain cells they hope could one day be used to treat disease.
Seoul National University's Woo Suk Hwang, and colleagues, took genetic material from normal cells in women donors and combined it with their eggs.
The resulting embryos were then grown to produce so-called stem cells that can divide into any tissue in the body, reports the BBC.
The aim is to use the cells to replace ones that have failed in patients with problems such as Alzheimer's disease.
The present work has substantially advanced the cause of generating transplantable tissues that exactly match the patient's own immune system.
"Because these cells carry the nuclear genome of the individual, after differentiation they could be expected to be transplanted without immune rejection for treatment of degenerative disorders," said Professor Hwang.
"Our approach opens the door for the use of these specially developed cells in transplantation medicine."
Details of the research are published online by the journal Science.
There have been claims in the past for the creation of human embryo clones to study so-called stem cells - many of them disputed.
But no group has reported producing so many early-stage clones and seen their development progress to such an advanced stage.
The work has also been subjected to the rigorous scrutiny of independent scientists before publication in a major journal.
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