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Strategies & Market Trends : China Warehouse- More Than Crockery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (4338)	2/4/2005 8:48:36 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6370

Progress and challenges for Asian stem cell research 4 February 2005 Source: Asia has been at the forefront of stem cell research since a Chinese scientist produced the first cloned vertebrate, a fish, in 1963. In contrast to their western counterparts, Asian scientists conducting stem cell research face fewer restrictions, and have the full support and encouragement of their governments. In this article in Science, Denis Normile and Charles C. Mann highlight progress being made in stem cell research in China, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. The lack of debate about ethical aspects of cloning and stem cell research in Asia has given scientists there a much freer hand compared with those in the West. Today, Asian nations are able to lure scientists from developed countries to work for them, and it seems likely that such nations will become leaders in the field. However Asia faces other challenges, posed for instance by its infrastructure, inadequate coordination and culture of secrecy. The authors point out that the region also needs the West to recognise that top research can come from developing countries. scidev.net Asian Countries Permit Research, With Safeguards Dennis Normile and Charles C. Mann Government officials, researchers, and ethicists in Asia readily link the region's general acceptance of research using human embryonic stem (ES) cells to its dominant Buddhist and Confucian religious-ethical traditions. But the countries of East Asia have also put a lot of thought, effort, and public debate into formulating policies that define researchers' responsibilities, as well as oversight mechanisms to ensure that guidelines are followed. Although broadly similar, the policies adopted throughout the region differ in details. China, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore have all banned reproductive cloning with the intent of creating a child. All four regions also allow the derivation of ES cells from surplus in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos obtained with informed consent; China, in addition, allows researchers to use embryos from aborted fetuses or miscarriages. South Korea's law stipulates that only embryos preserved for at least 5 years can be used. In each country except China, bioethics advisory committees have proposed national review boards to approve and oversee the derivation of new stem cell lines and each specific research project using them. Singapore and China allow the creation of embryos through IVF for research purposes; South Korea and Taiwan forbid this. Countries are split on therapeutic cloning, or the use of adult somatic cells to create stem cells genetically matched to the donor. Singapore and China will allow it with the same oversight as for ES cells. South Korea has decided to restrict therapeutic cloning to a limited number of groups and solely for work that can't be done using typical ES cells. The country's national review board will decide which groups and projects qualify. Taiwan's advisory committee "split 50-50" on therapeutic cloning, says committee member Daniel Tsai, a physician on the faculty of National Taiwan University. It put off a decision pending further study. Socially acceptable. Asian countries are less encumbered by the ethical dilemmas that have hamstrung research in the West. CREDIT: A. LASLETT, A. FILIPCZYK, AND M. PERA/MONASH INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH AND AUSTRALIAN STEM CELL CENTRE Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan incorporated societal views through high-level bioethics committees that held public hearings and made recommendations for the governments to codify into law. South Korea adopted a law governing ES cell derivation and research in December 2003. In September 2004, Singapore banned reproductive cloning but left pending the creation of a national review board. Under both laws, violators face prison sentences of up to 10 years or hefty fines or both. South Korea's review board is now being formed. Singapore's and Taiwan's need enabling legislation. For now, researchers using ES cells in Singapore must report their activities to the Ministry of Health. Until Taiwan passes legislation, says Tsai, institutions are trying to follow the recommendations of the bioethics committee; anyone violating the administrative ban on human cloning could lose a license to practice medicine or be forced out of an academic post. Serious debate in China on stem cell research ethics began only in late 2001, after a team led by Chen Xigu of Zhongshan Medical University in Guangzhou claimed it had cloned embryos by inserting a child's DNA into an enucleated rabbit egg. Although the news was met with skepticism, and the team never published its results, the report set off a public storm. Galvanized by the furor, Chinese bioethicists held several meetings in 2002 and 2003, submitting the results to a newly formed interagency committee of the ministries of Health and Science and Technology. Issued in December 2003, the committee's "ethical guiding principles" are much less formal than other nations' regulations--they are fewer than 500 words long and specify no penalties for violation. Although the regulations are intended to "give researchers a lot of freedom," the bottom line is clear, says Deng Hongkui of Peking University: "There will be no reproductive cloning in China." sciencemag.org