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Because this is such a hotly competitive field--Daewoo has introduced air conditioners that spray vitamin C into the environment--Kim isn't about to divulge what other nanotech projects he's working on. But one thing is for sure--from now on, even his dirtiest clothes will have a silver lining. --By Mingi Hyun/Seoul
THE CLONING CRUSADER UNIVERSITY OF NEWCASTLE | BRITAIN
Miodrag Stojkovic's biggest fear is that "people think we're crazy scientists creating the latest Frankenstein." That's because the Serb, 40, a researcher with the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, could become the first person to use cells from a cloned human embryo to treat disease. Last week he got approval from the British government to conduct such an experiment.
Stojkovic, who fled Yugoslavia in 1991 just before the Balkan wars broke out, is on the front lines of the cloning wars. He helped clone mammals at the University of Munich before going to Britain. Now, using a technique similar to one recently demonstrated in South Korea, he plans to create embryos by injecting a patient's DNA into an egg from which the genetic material has been removed. He then hopes to harvest the embryonic stem cells--which can develop into almost any organ--and coax them to produce insulin in diabetics. Stem cells may also hold promise for victims of Parkinson's and heart disease. Controversy has arisen from the fact that he is creating and discarding embryos. For many people, that is morally unacceptable. In the U.S., the Bush Administration has limited funding for stem-cell research for that reason--a decision that is now a campaign issue. "I have a clear conscience," says Stojkovic, who holds that life begins after 14 days, when the nervous system starts to form. London-based Human Genetics Alert warns that the techniques could be used to clone babies, something Stojkovic opposes. "I believe in embryonic stem cells," he says. If he can come up with a cure for diabetes, many people will believe along with him. --M.H.