1.   Mouse studies have shown that cancer can be transferred to mice when cancerous ovarian tissue is implanted in their bodies.

2.   New Zealand said Monday it opposes a plan by the Cook Islands to allow pig tissue to be implanted into humans as a possible cure for diabetics.

3.   The proposal affects mostly the hot new field of gene therapy, but also controversial xenotransplantation, implanting animal tissue into people.

4.   But implanting tissues from one specie to another poses a problem of genetic compatibility as well as of contaminating the recipient with new diseases present in the donor species.