Cloning Humans to Harvest Stem Cells

By Jennifer Ludden,

Joe Palca

Published January 2, 2005 at 12:00 AM EST

NPR's Jennifer Ludden talks with NPR's Joe Palca about recent advances in the field of cloning. In 2004, South Korean scientists successfully cloned a human embryo and extracted stem cells from it. Scientists hope to use embryonic stem cells to develop therapies for diseases like diabetes or Parkinson's.

Jennifer Ludden

Jennifer Ludden helps edit energy and environment stories for NPR's National Desk, working with NPR staffers and a team of public radio reporters across the country. They track the shift to clean energy, state and federal policy moves, and how people and communities are coping with the mounting impacts of climate change.

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Joe Palca

Joe Palca is a science correspondent for NPR. Since joining NPR in 1992, Palca has covered a range of science topics — everything from biomedical research to astronomy. He is currently focused on the eponymous series, "Joe's Big Idea." Stories in the series explore the minds and motivations of scientists and inventors. Palca is also the founder of NPR Scicommers – A science communication collective.

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