Recent advances in stem cell research - including the technique for reprogramming ordinary skin cells to behave like embryonic stem cells - could put human evolution on a pace that's much faster and wilder than we can handle, according to a pioneer in the field.

Advanced Cell Technology's Robert Lanza, who was one of the first researchers to work on human cloning, thinks someone better be ready to put on the brakes before the breakthroughs spin out of control.

Chalk this one up as just one more controversy for a scientist who has to be used to it by now. For more than a decade, Lanza has been on the forefront of cloning research - first with genetically engineered cows, and then with human embryos. More recently, he's been delving into other avenues for cell therapy - ranging from extracting single cells from embryos to the cell reprogramming trick.

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