Posted on 08/02/2005 5:32:30 PM PDT by Coleus
Top cloning experts gather in South Korea for clandestine test
Top cloning experts from Britain, South Korea and the United States working on ways to use stem cells to treat incurable diseases gathered here to kick-off a week-long secret experiment.
The scientists were led by South Korea's Hwang Woo-Suk, Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the creator of the cloned sheep Dolly, Professor Ian Wilmut of Scotland's Roslin Institute.
They would not say what the experiment would be about, but said it was expected to be over early next week.
Schatten however told journalists it would be a scientific "milestone" and indicated it could be aimed at combining achievements made in cloning and stem cell research to develop ways to treat incurable diseases.
Hwang, a professor at Seoul National University, and Schatten are co-authors of a landmark study published in May in which they said they had produced "therapeutic" stem cells.
These stem cells carry the identical genes of patients because they are extracted from cloned human embryos produced by combining adult cells from the patients and human eggs from donors, the scientists said.
This means they will not be rejected by the patients' immune systems, they said.
Hwang's team also took a significant step forward in inter-species organ transplants in May.
The team found ways to prevent monkeys rejecting organ transplants from pigs, paving the way for the use of animal organs and cells in humans to replace cells ravaged by illnesses such as Parkinson's and diabetes.
But Hwang cautioned it would take a long time before this process could be applied to treatment purposes, noting technology to control the direction of the growth of stem cells was unavailable.
I sent my clone there. How about you?
Typical news BS. If it was clandestine, it wouldn't be on the news. They make it sound as if they broke a big secret experiment, rather than held an interview.
Given the prevalence of autoimmune disease in the population at large, this conclusion appears a bit optimistic.
Please let it be a clone of Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson, or Ann Coulter...PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ! :-)
Should we send in the clones?
Hey, what's the fun of knowing a secret if you can't tell it to anybody?
The could flood North Korea with an army of chubby, narcissistic megalomaniacs with funny hair, all of whom insist that they're the *real* Kim. The ensuing pandemonium could bring the NK nuclear program to a screeching halt.
Amusingly enough, all of them *would be* the real Kim.
"Hans Brix? Oh no!"
What's the male:female ratio in South Korea?
I know its 125:100 or worse in some parts of the Far East.
Perhaps they're making wives for all those men.
Unfortunately, it's probably the implantation of one of their clones, either human or other primate , or the hybridization of humans with bovine or porcine oocytes. I'm afraid it's just a matter of time.
I bet they draw straws, and the winner (or loser) gets cloned with a speeded up growth process, but it turns out the clone is evil and wants to eat human flesh. (oh, and it escapes)
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