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Reacting to Dr. Hwang Woo-suk's admission at Seoul news conference, Dr.
Gerald Schatten said in a statement that the process of human egg
donations for stem cell research should be regulated. Professor
Schatten at the University of Pittsburgh was a collaborator of Dr.
Hwang in stem cell research but broke off ties after accusing Hwang of
possible ethical irregularities and misrepresentations regarding egg
donation. Also in the statement, the leading U.S. stem cell researcher
stressed that the scientific conclusions of Dr. Hwang's research should
remain intact and expressed his hope that Hwang's scientific feats are
not hurt by the recent controversy. Meanwhile, media outlets around the world have been reporting
on the latest controversy over the way Korean stem cell pioneer Hwang
Woo-suk obtained human eggs for his research. Some reports view the
incident as a worsening crisis while others say Korea's stem cell
circle will eventually overcome this hard time. With the title "Korean stem-cell crisis deepens," Nature
magazine said the pressure on Dr. Hwang Woo-suk was intensifying in his
home country. Nature also said Hwang's stem-cell research has suffered
a severe setback when he confessed in a press conference to the
purchase of human eggs. The New York Times reported that the latest
incident puts a major blow in the development of Korea's stem-cell
research field. The newspaper said Dr. Hwang's world reputation is now
expected to suffer a major dent especially since he admitted that he
lied about the way he obtained eggs for his stem-cell research. The NYT
also said the recent scandal clouds Dr. Hwang's plans to expand
research to the United States. AFP, however, reported that Dr. Hwang will overcome this hard
time because of his passion for stem-cell research. Local media has
been releasing bright outlook for Dr. Hwang, highlighting the fact that
many Koreans still support him. The World Stem Cell Hub said so far it
has received more than 600 egg donors for stem cell research and
expects the numbers to continue to rise. Dr. Hwang resigned from his
post as the head of the government-funded World Stem Cell Hub but it is
known that the center wants Dr. Hwang back. However still some analysts say a comeback may not be that
easy as the human eggs ethics controversy may give strength to Dr.
Hwang's opponents who warn that his work could lead to human cloning. Dr. Hwang and his team at Seoul National University made
worldwide headlines last year when they cloned the world's first human
embryos and extracted stem cells from them. And in August, this year,
Hwang's team cloned the first dog "Snuppy." Arirang News
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