The British weekly reported that hopes are high for human stem cells obtained through Professor Hwang's method to one day be used to treat illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease.

Hwang claimed in his paper, which was published in the same magazine in February, that he created a human embryo by enucleating eggs from female volunteers and fused them with oocyte.

Also coming in at Nature's sixth place was the creation of mice without using sperm by Seoul National University professor Seo Jeong-sun and his joint research team in Japan. Other highlights by Nature include a tiny human fossil found in Indonesia and decoding of the mouse genome.

Chosun University professor Song Chang-hun said Friday his team asked the government to permit stem cell trials on four paralyzed patients.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) will decide if the agency will give the approval for the breakthrough therapy, which has drawn attention from around the world.

Song surprised the world by announcing his team successfully treated a female patient with a spinal cord injury via stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

Hwang Mi-soon, whose lower limbs had been paralyzed for the last 19 years due to a back injury, stood up from her wheelchair and took a few steps with the help of a walker....

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