Source: Guardian Unlimited
Date: August 3, 2007
Summary:
"Scientists at the heart of one of the greatest scandals in modern scienc made a dramatic leap forward in stem cell research without realising it, a investigation into their work revealed yesterday. Hwang Woo-suk, leading stem cell scientist, from South Korea, fell from grace last year when a official inquest found he had faked data on human cloning. The fraud severel dented hopes for treatments based on embryonic stem cells, which in principl can grow into any tissue in the body. But it appears he has inadvertently achieve a world first, according to researchers who studied his work."
"Dr Hwang's team had succeeded in extracting stem cells from human eggs forced to undergo parthenogenesis, where eggs develop into early-stage embryos despite not being fertilised by sperm. The feat has been a much sought goal for stem cell scientists, since it paves the way for the creation of human tissues that are genetically identical to those of the egg donor. Replacement organ tissues or nerve fibres grown from a woman's stem cells could be used to treat serious diseases or injuries without fear of rejection from the immunity system of the recipient."
