CGS-authored
News that the world's leading cloning expert, Hwang Woo Suk, resigned after admitting unethical research practices stunned the science community. His World Stem Cell Hub had been touted as South Korea's attempt to corner the market in clonal embryos and their stem cells.
As legislators, courts and editorial boards grapple with the fallout from California's own cloning controversy -- the $3 billion bonanza for grant-hungry researchers and risk-averse biotech companies intent on corporate welfare to fund their research -- it's time to take stock. When the world's top cloner becomes the first international scandal of the "biotech century," we need to start asking questions.
Hwang's disgrace stems from the cover-up over the source of the eggs needed for his experiments. After denying rumors about the source of some eggs at his lab in Seoul, Hwang admitted late last month that two subordinate scientists at the lab had indeed donated their eggs for research. He also admitted that a doctor had paid some women for eggs used at the lab. These are no mere details; they go to the heart of...
As legislators, courts and editorial boards grapple with the fallout from California's own cloning controversy -- the $3 billion bonanza for grant-hungry researchers and risk-averse biotech companies intent on corporate welfare to fund their research -- it's time to take stock. When the world's top cloner becomes the first international scandal of the "biotech century," we need to start asking questions.
Hwang's disgrace stems from the cover-up over the source of the eggs needed for his experiments. After denying rumors about the source of some eggs at his lab in Seoul, Hwang admitted late last month that two subordinate scientists at the lab had indeed donated their eggs for research. He also admitted that a doctor had paid some women for eggs used at the lab. These are no mere details; they go to the heart of...