YANTAI, Shandong: A Chinese research team has cloned five human embryos in the early stages of development from 135 samples, marking a major step in the harvesting of cells for treating serious diseases, researchers said on Monday.

The use of the cells, known as therapeutic cloning, is said to require the creation of new embryos as a source of embryonic stem cells. These cells are cultured into nerve or skin cells, or a complete human organ, to replace the body's damaged or deviant cells.

"The human-embryo cloning technology will be used in human therapeutic cloning, rather than in making 'new' human beings," Li Jianyuan, who led the research team at the Shandong Research Center of Stem Cell Engineering said.