South Korean scientists have cloned the world's first mature embryonic stem-cell line, in what is seen as a breakthrough toward developing new methods of treating a wide range of degenerative ailments, a US science group reported.
But the controversial experiment announced on Wednesday is also likely to raise new concerns about cloning human beings.
"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," said Woo Suk-hwang of Seoul National University, the lead researcher on the project.
"Our approach opens the door for the use of these specially developed cells in transplantation medicine," he said in a statement released by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
A summary of the study made public by the association said Woo and a group of other South Korean scientists were able to produce versatile and "pluripotent" stem cells by taking part of a non-reproductive cell from women and transplanting it into the women's eggs.
Blastocysts, or precursors to fetuses, produced through this transfer created a cell mass that was used to harvest well-developed embryonic stem cells, according to the document.
The method was used to develop a whole human embryonic stem-cell line, using a total of 242 eggs collected from 16 women, all unpaid volunteers.
These eggs made it possible to grow a total of 30 blastocysts and obtain 20 suitable inner-cell masses, the report said.
The resulting stem cells differentiated into all the main tissue types that appear in the early stages of human development, the researchers said.
When transplanted into mice, the stem cells differentiated into still more specific cell types, offering further proof of pluripotency, they noted.
The key to their success, the researchers believe, lay in using extremely fresh donor eggs, following stringent timing protocols and a special method of extracting DNA from eggs.
The approach has been previously used to generate cells from mice, but up to now, nobody had been successful in applying it to humans, US scientists said.
Experts said the South Korean experiment may represent a major step toward developing new cures for severe and chronic ailments such as diabetes, osteoarthritis, Parkinson's disease and others.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS