SKorean cloning expert to re-create dogs for province
SKOREA: South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-Suk plans to present two
cloned dogs to one of the country's provinces to help it nurture a
bio-technology industry, his research centre said Monday.
The Sooam Biotech Research Foundation led by Hwang said it was ready
to clone a Tibetan Mastiff for North Chungcheong province.
"We are willing to provide two cloned dogs between late September and
early October," Hyun Sang-Hwan, chief adviser at the foundation, told
AFP. "We hope our symbolic work will help the province's drive to
nurture its bio-engineering industrial complex."
Hwang has been banned from research using human eggs after some of
his work was found to be fake. But his work in creating Snuppy, the
world's first cloned dog, has been verified by his university and other
authorities. Hyun denied Hwang would clone a German shepherd named Trakr,
which helped locate people trapped in the rubble of the 9/11 attacks in
New York in 2001.
The province said last week that Hwang would deliver two clones of
the dog to a zoo in Cheongju, 90 kilometres (54 miles) south of Seoul.
Hwang's team had presented five clones of Trakr to its former US
handler in June. The dog itself died in April. Hyun said there had been
discussions with the province about cloning Trakr but the project was
shelved. Once a national hero, Hwang was stripped of all government
honours and funds including the title "Supreme Scientist" after his
university concluded that some of his stem cell research claims were
fake.
He is on trial for fraud, embezzlement, ethical breaches and other
charges, but insists he can prove he created the world's first stem
cells cloned from a human embryo.
Seoul, Monday, AFP |