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A new study confirms that human embryonic stem cells which the disgraced cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-suk claims to have created through somatic cell nuclear transfer were actually derived by parthenogenesis.
The new report confirms the tentative findings of a Seoul National University panel in 2006 on the falsification of stem cell research results by Hwang and his team, debunking Hwang¡¯s claim that he created stem cells by transferring the nucleus of somatic cells into human eggs. Parthenogenesis is a method of reproduction common in plants and in some animals in which the female can generate offspring without the contribution of a male.
The team led by Prof. George Daley of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute said in the report published online on Thursday by the journal Cell Stem Cell that parthenogenetic mouse stem cells have the same genetic traits as stem cells generated by Hwang¡¯s team. Prof. Daley¡¯s team said, ¡°The Koreans' first supposed nuclear transfer-derived stem cell line was actually derived from the woman's egg alone.¡±
Hwang raised false hopes among patients of incurable diseases by claiming to have grown ¡°patient-specific¡± stem cells by transferring the nucleus of their cells, allowing them or any organs grown from them to be implanted without immune ejection. There are still significant obstacles to overcome in the generation of "patient-specific" stem cells, but parthenogenesis is an efficient way of generating embryos, and it may some day be feasible to generate stem cells specific to female patients from their eggs, the authors said in a press release.
Cell Stem Cell is a prestigious academic journal launched by Cell Press in affiliation with the International Society for Stem Cell Research in June this year.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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