International stem cell bank open


A bank that will create and supply new lines of embryonic stem cells for research around the world has been opened in Seoul, South Korea.

You were expecting maybe Cincinatti?



A bank that will create and supply new lines of embryonic stem cells for research around the world has been opened in Seoul, South Korea.

The project is being led by cloning expert Dr Woo Suk Hwang, who has pioneered the development of stem cells tailored to individual patients.

It will serve as the main centre for an international consortium, including the US and the UK.

You had to expect a service like this would have to come from somewhere outside of nations who kowtow to religious fundamentalism. The government of South Korea is providing some of the funds for this project -- while Western and Middle Eastern governments spend another couple of decades in dialogue with the Dark Ages fraternity.

The new bank is expected to help scientists from countries like the US get round government restrictions on stem cell research.

The Bush administration bans federal funding for research on all but a handful of old embryonic stem-cell lines.

The first branches of the stem cell bank will open in the UK and the US.

It is hoped to create about 100 cells lines per year with genetic defects that cause such diseases as diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
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Dr Hwang told Associated Press: "When the use of these stem cells is limited to a particular country, it takes much too long to create technologies usable for the whole of humanity.

"By creating a global network, we plan to share stem cells created in each country and share information on those stem cells."

Posted: Wed - October 19, 2005 at 07:15 AM