More than 2,600 patients applied to participate in research by a global stem cell center on its first day of accepting applications yesterday, pinning their hopes on cloning technology to overcome their hard-to-treat diseases.
The World Stem Cell Hub, led by South Korean cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-suk, aims to help those suffering from ailments such as Parkinson's disease or damaged spinal cords and who are willing to offer their skin tissue for research.
Officials have said it doesn't mean the beginning of clinical tests or treatment, yet applications still surged yesterday -- overloading the center's Web site with requests for information. The center has not set a deadline for applications or decided when trials will begin.
As of 3pm, about 2,600-2,700 applications had been received via the Internet, telephone, fax and in person, said Lim Jong-pil, an official at the research center at Seoul National University Hospital. The numbers were still rising.
"I'm pinning all hopes on this," said Lee Kil-no, 52, sitting in his wheelchair at the registration center where dozens of other patients were filling out forms. Lee said he was paralyzed from the chest down after falling five-stories at a construction site.
"I believe my condition will improve if I get this treatment. I wish I could walk again," he said.
One researcher said it would be a while before patients start to benefit from the new technology.
"We're now receiving applications only. This doesn't mean treatment will begin immediately," said Kang Sung-keun, a professor at Seoul National University's veterinary college.
Kang declined to predict how long it would be before the new technology becomes available for general patients.
But Yim Jung-gi, vice president of the hospital, reportedly said earlier this month it would take five to 10 years.
The stem cell bank opened Oct. 19 with the aim of serving as the main center for providing scientists around the world with embryonic stem cells, seen as a potential source of replacement tissue for people with a variety of ailments.
The bank -- which will have its first branches in Britain and the US -- is expected to give other scientists room to get around government restrictions on research into embryonic stem cells.
Many scientists are hoping to accelerate research on embryonic stem cells -- master cells that can grow into all the other tissues in the body.
However, culling stem cells often involves destroying the days-old embryos harboring them, and the administration of US President George W. Bush bans federal funding for research on all but a handful of old embryonic stem-cell lines.
The latest batch from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s e-mails illustrates the extraordinary scope of his contacts with powerful people, ranging from a top Trump adviser to Britain’s ex-prince Andrew. The US House of Representatives is expected to vote this week on trying to force release of evidence gathered on Epstein by law enforcement over the years — including the identities of the men suspected of participating in his alleged sex trafficking ring. However, a slew of e-mails released this week have already opened new windows to the extent of Epstein’s network. These include multiple references to US President Donald
CHARGES: The former president, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison for a failed coup bid, as well as an assassination plot Far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is running out of options to avoid prison, after judges on Friday rejected his appeal against a 27-year sentence for a botched coup bid. Bolsonaro lost the 2022 elections and was convicted in September for his efforts to prevent Brazlian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking power after the polls. Prosecutors said the scheme — which included plans to assassinate Lula and a top Brazilian Supreme Court judge — failed only due to a lack of support from military top brass. A panel of Supreme Court judges weighing Bolsonaro’s appeal all voted to uphold
Chinese tech giant Alibaba yesterday denied it helps Beijing target the US, saying that a recent news report was “completely false.” The Financial Times yesterday reported that Alibaba “provides tech support for Chinese military ‘operations’ against [US] targets,” a White House memo provided to the newspaper showed. Alibaba hands customer data, including “IP addresses, WiFi information and payment records,” to Chinese authorities and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, the report cited the memo as saying. The Financial Times said it could not independently verify the claims, adding that the White House believes the actions threaten US security. An Alibaba Group spokesperson said “the assertions
LEFT AND RIGHT: Battling anti-incumbent, anticommunist sentiment, Jeanette Jara had a precarious lead over far-right Jose Antonio Kast as they look to the Dec. 14 run Leftist candidate Jeannette Jara and far-right leader Jose Antonio Kast are to go head-to-head in Chile’s presidential runoff after topping Sunday’s first round of voting in an election dominated by fears of violent crime. With 99 percent of the results counted, Jara, a 51-year-old communist running on behalf of an eight-party coalition, won 26.85 percent, compared with 23.93 percent for Kast, the Servel electoral service said. The election was dominated by deep concern over a surge in murders, kidnappings and extortion widely blamed on foreign crime gangs. Kast, 59, has vowed to build walls, fences and trenches along Chile’s border with Bolivia to
RSS