Stem Cell Fraudster May Have Actually Made Breakthrough

Otter writes "Woo Suk Hwang's career swung from fame over his lab's claim of the first stem cells from a cloned human embryo to humiliation when the results were found to be fake. Research at Harvard on Hwang's cells has found that they are actually parthenogenic lines derived from eggs -- perhaps a more important and difficult achievement than what he had been claiming! 'Researchers said that the distinct "genetic fingerprint" of the stem cells means they may be the first in the world to be extracted from embryos produced by the so-called "virgin birth" method, or parthenogenesis. This happens when eggs are stimulated into becoming embryos without ever being fertilised by sperm, and has been achieved in animals. However, before Hwang, no one had managed to produce a human embryo using parthenogenesis which lived long enough to allow the extraction of viable stem cells.'"

Comments

ignorance in need of a cure

[WGFELyL5]

Hope you can help me.

New research at Harvard on Hwang's cells has found that they are actually parthenogenic lines derived from eggs -- perhaps a more important and difficult achievement than what he had been claiming [the first stem cells from a cloned human embryo]! What are parthogenic lines?
Is there a way to derive them other than using eggs?
Do they occur naturally somewhere?

Why is this more important than stem cells from a cloned human embryo?

Why was that important?
Ethicists are satisfied if the destroyed embryo is a cloned one?

Jesus?

[drewzhrodague]

may be the first in the world to be extracted from embryos produced by the so-called "virgin birth" method, or parthenogenesis.

Is this another Jesus? I thought those xtians were a little freaky, but could they have been right all along?