HWANG’S MAMMOTH MISTAKE
The activities of disgraced Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk are looking stranger and stranger. More details are emerging as his trial proceeds on charges of misappropriating public funds, embezzlement and illegally purchasing human eggs. It turns out that some of these funds were diverted into a project for cloning extinct mammoths. His team tried three times and failed. However, he says, Not a single penny was spent for personal use." Hwang still insists that he did not realise that his cloned human embryos were fakes. "I am also a victim who was deceived," he told the hearing. "I am the biggest victim."
Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.
Latest posts by Michael Cook (see all)
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