Scientists claim to have cloned first human embryo
Stem cells have been extracted from cloned human embryos for the first time by researchers in South Korea.
Writing in the journal Science, study leader Woo Suk Hwang said he had taken genetic material from normal cells in female donors and combined them with their eggs.
The experiment suggests so-called “therapeutic cloning” is no longer science fiction but a reality.
Backers of stem cell research say patients with problems such as Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease may be helped by the technology.
Hwang of Seoul National University in Korea said in a statement: “Our approach opens the door for the use of these specially developed cells in transplantation medicine.
“Because these cells carry the nuclear genome of the individual, after differentiation they could be expected to be transplanted without immune rejection for treatment of degenerative disorders.”
In 2003, a Massachusetts-based firm, Advanced Cell Technology, said it had created a human cloned embryo but problems halted its development to become a source of stem cells.
