A report by top British scientists after an extensive field tour of East Asia has identified China as being at the forefront of stem cell research and well poised to capitalise on expected scientific breakthroughs that could revolutionise modern medicine.
The report points to specific areas where Chinese research is surging ahead, in part due to the reticence of western nations such as the US to adopt the controversial research, where cells from human embryos are replicated in the lab and can be developed into body tissue. The work could lead to cures for diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. But some, particularly in the US, are queasy about tampering with people's genetic makeup.
In what could be seen as a stark moral conflict of interest, the report also points to research in areas where animal testing is being extensively used, and surprisingly identifies this as research where western universities - often pressured against using such methods - should collaborate with their Chinese colleagues for their own advantage.
Few moral qualms to the research appear to exist on the mainland, however, where the government has provided generous funding for the sector. Last year, the team of stem cell scientists dispatched by the British government's Trade and Industry Department visited the mainland as part of a field trip which included Singapore and South Korea. They were impressed with the quality of research on the mainland.
'Stem cell science in China is booming,' they said in a report released late last month. 'They are at, or approaching, the forefront of international stem cell research.' Such praise is all the more impressive from British scientists who are considered leaders in the field after the first animal, known as Dolly the sheep, was cloned in Scotland in 1997.
The report said Chinese laboratories matched and even exceeded those of British research centres. 'These facilities were, in every case we saw, equipped, funded and staffed to levels at least as good - in most cases better - than equivalent centres in the UK,' the team said.