President Bush has already spoken out about news from South Korea late yesterday that scientists there have managed to clone human stem cells for medical research.

NPR: Slate's Human Nature: S. Korean Stem Cell Advance

But Mitalipov says his process with the human cells isn't designed to generate a human clone, but rather just to create the embryonic stem cells.

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Zeneca ordered a "wet" copy of a promising gene, in the form of a clone -- a colony of bacterial cells whose members all carry the desired snippet of DNA. These bacterial guinea pigs can then be used to try out antibacterial chemicals.

FORBES: Biology in silico

He speculates that one reason why it may be more difficult to clone monkeys and humans is because the egg cells are more fragile than those of other species.

WSJ: Experiment Brings Human Cloning One Step Closer

But ultimately, she would like to avoid the awkward process of collecting egg cells from the northern wombat, and clone the animal instead.

ECONOMIST: Endangered species

Instead, they want to use somatic cell nuclear transfer, the same process used to clone Dolly the sheep in 1997, to create embryonic stem cells.

FORBES: Cloning's High Cost

Right now, scientists can only use stem cells to study particular diseases by creating embryos through the same process used to clone animals like Dolly the sheep.

FORBES: Stem Cell Science Heats Up