What is the Major Breakthrough in S. Korean Stem Cells Research?

[Monique]

I heard the news and an article is published in Science, but what exactly is the major breakthrough? To me it seems that they have improved on their technique of nuclear transfer (cloning) for extracting stem cells, not that they have created a new way of creating stem cells (the news seems to have picked up the topic big time).

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2005/519/1

 

[Reality_Patrol]

I read a quote (on the front page of my local newspaper) from the American researcher that co-authored the article on their work for next month's edition in either Nature or Science, can't remember now.

Anyway, the point he made was the importance of this work is that it enabled human reproductive cloning to become practical. Didn't think that one was coming for another decade or so myself...

 

[Monique]

They need to harvest fresh oocytes, practical? When I heard the news I was hoping they had found a way to de-differentiate cells to stem cells chemically.. future music :)

You mention human reproductive cloning, are you sure you don't mean therapeutic cloning?