Titled “South Korea to the Rescue?” the editorial said, “A South Korean team has emerged as the best in the world at cloning embryos. It was the first to clone human embryos and extract stem cells from them, and the first to clone a dog.” In a swipe at the forces that control research funding in the U.S. the paper adds, “The announcement that Korean stem cell scientists are offering to help beleaguered colleagues in the United States and Europe perform path-finding research through ‘therapeutic cloning’ is a measure of how distorted our own research environment has become.”

But it warned American scientists to be “wary of relying on South Korea instead of honing their own skills” and advises them to give up seeking federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, which has been vetoed by President George W. Bush, and “seek private or state funds to perform the work themselves.”

The article said Korea is “setting up an international consortium -- the World Stem Cell Hub, with satellite clinics in San Francisco and England -- to create embryonic stem cell lines derived from patients suffering from particular diseases” and this would provide “expertise and a way to sidestep controversy” for those who need the technology.

(englishnews@chosun.com )