The Rise and Fall of the Cloning King

"The Rise and Fall of the Cloning King"

To "clone a gene," a DNA fragment containing the gene of interest is isolated from chromosomal DNA using restriction enzymes and then united with a plasmid that has been cut with the same restriction enzymes. When the fragment of chromosomal DNA is joined with its cloning vector in the lab, it is called a "recombinant DNA molecule." Following introduction into suitable host cells, the recombinant DNA can then be reproduced along with the host cell DNA.

Problems also may result from programming errors in the genetic material from a donor cell. When an embryo is created from the union of a sperm and an egg, the embryo receives copies of most genes from both parents. A process called "imprinting" chemically marks the DNA from the mother and father so that only one copy of a gene (either the maternal or paternal gene) is turned on. Defects in the genetic imprint of DNA from a single donor cell may lead to some of the developmental abnormalities of cloned embryos.

Woo SukÐ' Hwang, a native South Korean, achieved a scientific landmark: the first scientist to achieve therapeutic cloning of a human embryo in 2004. Hwang also was the first scientist to clone a dog which was named Snuppy. His government showered him with millions of dollars for his research studies. Many scientists from around the world were trying to collaborate with Hwang.

Then in 2005 Hwang's world started to crash. He was now facing a series of serious charges. One charge was that a woman had gained financially for providing Hwang with the needed eggs for his research and later allegations that eggs also were derived from his own employees. These actions were considered a form of coercion. He was forced to admit that nine of the eleven stem-cell lines that he claimed were from clones were not from clones. Hwang resigned from the Seoul National University.

Hwang is still under investigation and has been hospitalized periodically due to stress and fatigue. This is, however, a mystery yet. By numerous accounts Hwang was a dedicated and disciplined scientist who arrived at the lab at 5 a.m. and seldom left earlier than midnight. He did not gain financially from his discoveries; he turned over his patent rights to the university and the government. It may well have been his assistants whom "cut" corners