Korean stem-cell lab will bypass ethical issues

An "offshore haven" for human embryonic stem-cell research is being created to sidestep legal, ethical and political barriers to such experiments in North America.

South Korean scientists, who are masters at creating stem cells from custom-built human embryos, are expected to announce today the creation of an international consortium that will do experiments outlawed in Canada, many European countries and several U.S. states.

The foundation, which is being likened to an offshore company that avoids tax laws, will offer scientists from around the world a chance to work with the controversial cells without actually creating and destroying embryos themselves, says a report in The New England Journal of Medicine.

For Canadian scientists, it could translate into opportunities to collaborate on experiments that are illegal in Canada and could land them five- to 10-year jail terms if done at home.

"As far I can tell, there is nothing to stop a Canadian researcher from going to Korea (to collaborate on the research) and then coming back home," says lawyer Timothy Caulfield, a biomedical specialist at the University of Alberta.

Whether Canadian...