JUNE 2004
Regulating a medical revolution
Human embryonic stem cell research provides hope to those who suffer from some of
the world's incurable diseases. Helen Cline, Anoushka Myers and Lawrence Harrison examine the legality and regulation of research on embryos in Europe and the US
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| Helen Cline |
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| Anoushka Myers |
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| Lawrence Harrison |
In February this year, Woo Suk Hwang and his research team at
Seoul National University, South Korea made the headlines by
announcing that they had cloned 30 human embryos to obtain cells
that might one day be used to treat disease. The researchers took
the genetic material from normal cells in women donors and combined
it with eggs from those donors. The resulting embryos were then
grown up to produce so-called stem cells that can divide into any
tissue in the body. The team's aim is to use the cells to replace
ones that have failed in diseased patients.
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