Where now for stem-cell cloners?

[摘要] In the wake of controversy over the authenticity of research papers by stem-cell researcher Woo Suk Hwang, scientists are wondering if therapeutic cloning of human stem cells is really possible. Dr. Hwang's group published two papers in 2003 and 2004 respectively, firstly claiming to have cloned a cell from an adult woman and to have put DNA from the womans cell into one of her own eggs. The egg was said to have developed into a blastocyst, from which embryonic stem cells were harvested. The second paper claimed that genetic material was transferred from patients into eggs of healthy women to create blastocysts and exact stem cells. Sceptics claim that because the egg and donor DNA came from the same person, it was impossible to be sure whether the stem-cell line was created from the donor cell or the egg.

[关键词] NUCLEAR TRANSFER;BLASTOCYST;OOCYTES