The Hwang Saga Continues: A Genetic Crossroads Exclusive
By Pete Shanks,
Genetic Crossroads
| 05. 12. 2006
|
|
|
Seoul National University
|
The downfall of South Korean cloning researcher Hwang Woo-Suk, formerly his country's "supreme scientist," continues to play out. Prosecutors have announced that Hwang and his associate Kim Sun-jong will be indicted on charges related to the unethical and illegal procurement of women's eggs. They are still considering criminal charges related to the scientific fraud itself and to embezzlement of government funds. Seoul National University (SNU) has announced that the buildings intended for the ill-fated World Stem Cell Hub, created by Hwang last fall, will now be used for a gene-therapy center focusing on work with adult stem cells.
CGS associate Pete Shanks visited Seoul in April to investigate the scandal further:
Seoul, the capital of South Korea is a huge, modern, vibrant megalopolis. "I didn't like California so much," commented one Korean activist, "Too slow. New York, that's more my speed."
South Korea as a whole is one of the most rapidly urbanizing countries on the planet - more than 80% urban, up from 57% 25 years ago. It has the 9th largest economy in the...
Related Articles
By Rob Stein, NPR | 09.30.2025
Scientists have created human eggs containing genes from adult skin cells, a step that someday could help women who are infertile or gay couples have babies with their own genes but would also raise difficult ethical, social and legal issues...
By Aleks Krotoski, The Guardian | 09.28.2025
Imagine you’re the leader of one of the most powerful nations in the world. You have everything you could want at your disposal: power, influence, money. But, the problem is, your time at the top is fleeting. I’m not...
By Gregory Laub and Hannah Glaser, MedPage Today | 08.07.2025
In this MedPage Today interview, Leigh Turner, PhD, a professor of health policy and bioethics at the University of California Irvine, unpacks the growing influence of stem cell clinics and the blurred line between medicine and marketing. He explains how...
By Gina Kolata, The New York Times | 06.20.2025
A single infusion of a stem cell-based treatment may have cured 10 out of 12 people with the most severe form of type 1 diabetes. One year later, these 10 patients no longer need insulin. The other two patients need...
