Scientists clone human embryos

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- South

Korean researchers reported Thursday
they have created human embryos
through cloning and extracted
embryonic stem cells, the universal cells
that scientists expect will result in
breakthroughs in medical research.
Hanyang University professor Hwang
Yoon-Young said, "Our research team
has successfully culled stem cells from a
cloned human embryo through mature
growing process in a test tube." The
findings by a team of researchers led by
Dr. Hwang Woo Suk of Seoul National
University were presented to South
Korean scientists and will be published
in the U.S. journal Science. Te paper
describes a detailed process of how to
create human embryos by cloning,
saying the scientists used the eggs
donated by Korean women. The
technique, scientists said, was not
designed to make babies but to further
the process known as therapeutic
cloning, a possible treatment for a multitude of diseases. Advances in stem-
cell technology ave been hailed as holding potential cures for many crippling
illnesses, such as diabetes, spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, stem cells can be
manipulated by scientists to develop into many other human cells. While they
can be found in adults, those found in days-old embryos are far more
prevalent and more easily manipulated into specialized cells, which then
could be used to create cures or even how replacement organs, the NIH
reports. Stem cell researcher Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute
for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, told The Associated
Press the experiment proved the cloning technique was possible using
human cells.

"That's an important point to prove," he told the AP.