By Chung Hyun-chae
Korea's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has rejected the registration of a stem cell line, dubbed NT-1, created by former Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo-suk, citing a lack of scientific evidence to prove that the line was created through somatic cloning.
Hwang and his research team created NT-1 in 2003 and have claimed that it was the world's first stem cell batch extracted from cloned human embryos.
As it requested Hwang to submit more evidence in June, the center plans to form a verification committee, consisting of related experts, to verify the authenticity of the NT-1 with the additional evidence.
With some research showing that the NT-1 was developed by parthenogenesis, the "virgin birth," a process by which an egg develops on its own without fertilization, skeptical views on Hwang's claims is more dominant now.
In 2006, Seoul National University's investigation committee announced that the NT-1 was highly likely to be produced by the virgin birth method, citing its genetic fingerprint that shows the stem cell was created through meiosis and genetic recombination.
A research team at the Harvard Medical School supported such conclusion, saying that they found that a cell has specific marks if it was produced by parthenogenesis, and the NT-1 did so. They got the result from mouse test.
The center may approve the register of the NT-1 if Hwang's team acknowledged that the stem cell was created by parthenogenesis.
Nonetheless, Hwang has allegedly stood firm in what he has claimed.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal to reject Hwang's application to register the NT-1 for his unethical practice of buying human eggs.
The court said the regulation that prohibits providing ova for financial compensation put into practice was after Hwang's research.
Hwang suffered setbacks after being convicted of embezzlement and fabricating research data in 2005.
Following Hwang's scandal, the government banned all research using human eggs in 2009.
The stem cell research has recently been showing a sign of recovery since the Ministry of Health and Welfare approved CHA University to resume the embryonic stem cell project early this month.
Stem cells have the potential to develop into any kind of tissue in the human body so that the related research can develop treatments for incurable diseases including optic nerve damage, strokes and articular cartilage defects.
Korea's Center for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) has rejected the registration of a stem cell line, dubbed NT-1, created by former Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo-suk, citing a lack of scientific evidence to prove that the line was created through somatic cloning.
Hwang and his research team created NT-1 in 2003 and have claimed that it was the world's first stem cell batch extracted from cloned human embryos.
As it requested Hwang to submit more evidence in June, the center plans to form a verification committee, consisting of related experts, to verify the authenticity of the NT-1 with the additional evidence.
With some research showing that the NT-1 was developed by parthenogenesis, the "virgin birth," a process by which an egg develops on its own without fertilization, skeptical views on Hwang's claims is more dominant now.
In 2006, Seoul National University's investigation committee announced that the NT-1 was highly likely to be produced by the virgin birth method, citing its genetic fingerprint that shows the stem cell was created through meiosis and genetic recombination.
A research team at the Harvard Medical School supported such conclusion, saying that they found that a cell has specific marks if it was produced by parthenogenesis, and the NT-1 did so. They got the result from mouse test.
This result was published on the Cell Stem Cell, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, in 2007.
The center may approve the register of the NT-1 if Hwang's team acknowledged that the stem cell was created by parthenogenesis.
Nonetheless, Hwang has allegedly stood firm in what he has claimed.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal to reject Hwang's application to register the NT-1 for his unethical practice of buying human eggs.
The court said the regulation that prohibits providing ova for financial compensation put into practice was after Hwang's research.
Hwang suffered setbacks after being convicted of embezzlement and fabricating research data in 2005.
Following Hwang's scandal, the government banned all research using human eggs in 2009.
The stem cell research has recently been showing a sign of recovery since the Ministry of Health and Welfare approved CHA University to resume the embryonic stem cell project early this month.
Stem cells have the potential to develop into any kind of tissue in the human body so that the related research can develop treatments for incurable diseases including optic nerve damage, strokes and articular cartilage defects.
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