Expert: No human clones this century
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SEOUL, South Korea -- Work on the possibility of cloning humans is dangerous, complicated and unethical and there will be no human clones this century, a South Korean stem cell research pioneer has said.
Woo-Suk Hwang is the head of the team that cloned the first human embryo to use for research.
That breakthrough sparked a flurry of international debate on the ethics of cloning research -- and how governments should be prepared to let it proceed.
Last month, the scientists cloned patient-specific stem cells, important if doctors are to develop cell-based therapies that will not be rejected by the body's immune system.
They also found faster and safer ways to cull stem cells, using far fewer donated eggs -- about 20 per try -- and were able to eliminate the use of mouse cells employed to complement human lines.
Any trials using the therapy on humans would still be years away.
And speaking at a conference in Seoul on Thursday, Hwang dismissed human cloning as "unsafe science."
"Cloning a human being is nonsense. Briefly, it is not ethical, it is not safe at all, and it's technically impossible," he said.
"I don't think we will have any chance to meet a cloned human being within the next 100 years, at least."
Researchers hope stem cells, which are at an early developmental stage and have the potential to become various different types of adult cell, could be used to treat diseases, repair spinal cords or assist in organ transplants.
Hwang said his research does not amount to human cloning.
He said his work involves taking eggs harvested from women to make cells that would never be able to become a human being.
Responding to Hwang's breakthrough last month, U.S. President George W. Bush said he was "concerned about cloning" and held out the possibility of vetoing legislation that would ease curbs on government funding for embryonic stem cell research.
"I worry about a world in which cloning would be acceptable," he said.
Hwang said he respected the theological and political values of Bush's views, but that they represented a "peculiar policy" that was holding back U.S. research in the field.
