Human embryos cloned

The Scientist :: Human embryos cloned

This report from the Scientist marks a great technological achievement, bringing human cloning success up to levels previously seen only in livestock.

Wook Suk Hwang and Shin Yong Moon of Seoul National University in Korea did the research, marking a great stride for Korean research capacity.

The research is medically important, since it suggests that cloning and human stem cell production are closer than had been thought. Stem cell research holds great promise in for a number of ailments.

The achievement should serve as a “wake-up call” to the United States. “The work should have been done in the US, it should have been published by researchers in the US first,” Michael D. West, president and chief executive officer of Advanced Cell Technology, told The Scientist. “It wasn't.”

The field is underfunded because of the Bush administration's strong position against cloning. Government oposition to cloning research has dramatically contracted the amount of such work being done in the United States.