Aggregated News
Embryonic stem cell research will resume soon after the Ministry of Health and Welfare granted conditional approval to a private university's project, Monday.
Prof. Lee Dong-ryul of CHA University in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, will lead a team of researchers in carrying out a four-year research project aimed at treating rare and incurable diseases. The university conducted similar research in 2009 but failed to produce viable stem cell lines.
Nearly 600 human eggs will be used for the research, 100 of which will be unfrozen, raising hopes for the research team to succeed in cloning embryonic stem cells this time.
The latest approval carries great significance because almost all embryonic stem cell research in Korea was halted following data fabrication scandals involving Hwang Woo-suk, the disgraced former Seoul National University professor. The strict ban on the use of unfrozen eggs began in 2005 after the scandal involving Hwang, who used such eggs from women seeking infertility treatments. Later he was convicted of falsifying research results and embezzlement.
Most notable is that the upcoming research will follow the somatic cell cloning method...