Hope for my Dad and others who suffer similar maladies that can be cured by stem cell science. Asia will most likely take the lead in stem cell research, with S. Korea and China charging forward.

From S. Korea cloning expert criticises Bush policy

Extracts:

Woo-Suk Hwang, the head of a team of South Korean scientists who cloned the first human embryo to use for research said in an interview with Reuters that stem cell science will advance because of its enormous potential, and will not be halted by political interests.

"The scientific effort to resolve the pain of patients with incurable conditions is very honourable, and I believe no mere individual politician or party can stop the historic trend," Hwang said at his laboratory at Seoul National University.

"Solving these problems is a common responsibility of humanity," he said.

Earlier this month, Hwang's team made news around the world for its research that fulfilled one of the basic promises of cloning technology in stem cell research -- that a piece of skin could be taken from a patient to grow stem cells with that patient's specific genetic material.

Researchers believe that the cells one day could be used to provide individually tailored tissue and organ transplants, as well as curing maladies such as juvenile diabetes and Parkinson's disease, or to repair severe spinal cord injuries.

Hwang would like to keep the science on stem cell research open and global, saying that greater international cooperation will lead to more effective results, more quickly.

For him, the ethical consideration should weigh heavily in favour of a patient suffering from a disease or malady now considered incurable -- as opposed to the stem cells he creates in the lab.

"Let's say we have a microproduct just 100 micrometers long, made through nuclear transfer technology, and let's say we have a human being who has lived in pain all his life," Hwang said. "To argue that there is a balance (in considering the humanity of the two) would not be ethical."

Hwang thinks his work could help open a new chapter in medical treatment by potentially creating individualised cells to treat maladies for which they may be no cure today.

"I dare believe this breakthrough will be a factor that will bring in a new era in medical history," Hwang said.