Hwang Woo Suk and Moon Shin Yong

Hwang Woo Suk and Moon Shin Yong
▪ 2005

      In February 2004 two researchers from Seoul (S.Kor.) National University announced that they had successfully cloned human embryos. Hwang Woo Suk, a specialist in veterinary medicine, and Moon Shin Yong, an obstetrician, harvested eggs from donors and developed cloned embryos. One of the embryos yielded stem cells—undifferentiated cells capable of developing into specific cell types. Scientists believed that stem cells might one day be used to treat illnesses resulting from damaged cells, including juvenile diabetes, Parkinson disease, and Alzheimer disease.

      The announcement set off a new round of debates regarding the ethics of human cloning. Hwang and Moon voiced strong opposition to reproductive cloning and insisted that their research was conducted solely for the purpose of therapeutic cloning—that is, for fighting disease. Opponents were not appeased. Some believed that the development opened the door to reproductive cloning. Many others continued to oppose stem-cell research of any kind on religious grounds.

      Human cells had been cloned before, but the resulting fragile embryos died quickly. Hwang and Moon credited the success of their research to several factors. One was the large number of eggs they had available: 242. They were obtained from 16 female volunteer donors who underwent a rigorous screening process to ensure that they understood the implications of their participation. Another factor was the way in which material was extracted from the eggs. Whereas past researchers had used suction, Hwang and Moon used a squeezing technique, which helped reduce damage to the eggs.

      Hwang was born Dec. 15, 1953, in Buyeo, S.Kor. He studied at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Seoul National University, receiving a B.S. (1977) in veterinary medicine and an M.S. (1979) and a Ph.D. (1982) in theriogenology, the study of animal reproduction. In 1984 he joined the faculty of Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, as a visiting fellow, and from 1986 he was a faculty member at Seoul National University.

      Moon was born April 1, 1948, in Kongju, Korea (now in South Korea). He studied in the College of Medicine at Seoul National University (B.S., 1974; M.S., 1977; Ph.D., 1987). He joined the faculty of the College of Medicine of the university in 1983 and was named director of the university's Institute of Reproductive Medicine and Population in 1999. He also studied at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk, Va., in the mid-1980s.

      Hwang, who received South Korea's top scientist prize in April 2004, had earned a name for himself by developing methods for cloning cows and pigs. In 2002, having decided to begin work on human cloning, he approached Moon, who had done extensive work with in vitro fertilization.

Anthony G. Craine

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Moon Shin Yong — ▪ South Korean obstetrician born April 1, 1948, Kongju, S.Kor.       South Korean obstetrician who was involved in human cloning research that was later discovered to have been fabricated.       Moon was raised in Korea (now South Korea). He… …   Universalium

  • Hwang Woo Suk — ▪ South Korean scientist born Dec. 15, 1953, Buyeo, S.Kor.    South Korean scientist whose revolutionary claims of having cloned human embryos from which he extracted stem cells were discredited as fabrications.       Hwang studied at the College …   Universalium

  • Health and Disease — ▪ 2009 Introduction Food and Drug Safety.       In 2008 the contamination of infant formula and related dairy products with melamine in China led to widespread health problems in children, including urinary problems and possible renal tube… …   Universalium

  • List of people of Korean descent — This is a list of famous Koreans or famous people of Korean descent. For easy reference, the hangul spelling of each person s name is provided alongside his or her romanized name.Note: In Korean names, the family name is placed first (for example …   Wikipedia

  • South Korea at the 1988 Summer Olympics — Infobox Olympics South Korea games=1988 Summer competitors=401 (269 men and 132 women) sports=27 flagbearer=Jo Yong Cheol gold=12 silver=10 bronze=11 total=33 rank=4South Korea was the host nation and competed as Korea at the 1988 Summer Olympics …   Wikipedia

  • South Korea at the 2004 Summer Olympics — Infobox Olympics South Korea games=2004 Summer competitors=264 (145 men and 119 women) sports=25 flagbearer=Gu Min Jung officials= gold=9 silver=12 bronze=9 total=30 rank=9South Korea competed as Korea at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, while …   Wikipedia

  • Cinema of Korea — Korean cinema encompasses the motion picture industries of North and South Korea. As with all aspects of Korean life during the past century, the film industry has often been at the mercy of political events, from the late Joseon dynasty to the… …   Wikipedia

  • Seoul National University — Not to be confused with the Seoul National University of Education or the University of Seoul. Seoul National University 서울대학교 Latin …   Wikipedia

  • Princess Hours — Infobox Television show name = Princess Hours caption = genre = romance, comedy camera = picture format = audio format = runtime = Wednesday Thursday creator = developer = producer = executive producer = starring = Yoon Eun Hye Joo Ji Hoon Kim… …   Wikipedia

  • Dates of 2004 — ▪ 2005 January It turns out we were all wrong, probably, in my judgment. David Kay, former U.S. chief weapons inspector in Iraq, in testimony to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, January 28 January 1              Haitian Pres. Jean… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”