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The country's stem cell research is expected to pick up speed with the
launch of a primate research center. The center will breed monkeys for
stem cell experiments that scientists hope will lead to cures for
chronic human ailments, such as diabetes and paralysis from injuries to
the spine. Part of the work at the US$7.4 million research center will
include inter-species cell transplants to generate tissue that may one
day be used to treat humans. The research is being done principally by
Professor Hwang Woo-suk at Seoul National University. The geneticist
made global headlines after he cloned the world's first human embryonic
stem cell and later a dog. Built on 109,000 square meters of land in Cheongwon, North
Chungcheong Province, the Korea National Primate Research Center houses
74 monkeys, gorillas and chimpanzees. The apes' genetic structure is
similar to humans. Dr Hwang plans to transplant human stem cells into
the monkeys to grow various sorts of tissue in his quest to address
chronic ailments. In research on diabetes, the scientist intends to inject
insulin-producing pancreas cells of miniature pigs into the monkeys to
test for tolerance risks when transplanting pig organs to humans.
Officials at the research center are planning to increase the number of
primates by 10 fold by 2008. Arirang News
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