There is a budget, there are no restrictions, just come * The Singapore government allows cloned embryos to be studied up to 14 days after they were cloned
Embryonic stem cells. A year ago, when George W. Bush restricted human stem cell research in the United States, the field of cell biology was not taught at any of the universities in Singapore. There was only one senior researcher in the entire country who was engaged in stem cell research, and his work was not used at all.
The scientist, Arif Bongsu, was the first to succeed in isolating human stem cells - cells that can become any type of cell in the body and that may be used in the future to restore damaged organs. Bongsu did this in 1994 but he did not patent his method and allowed his American colleagues to steal the glory from him.
Recently, the situation has changed drastically. In August 2001, President Bush placed restrictions on federal funding for human stem cell research due to ethical concerns regarding cloning and abortion (aborted embryos are a good source of stem cells). As a result, the pace of research in the US slowed down.
The Singaporean government saw the opportunity, making itself a haven from regulations restricting stem cell research. In doing so, she hopes to attract scientists who feel that their research freedom is being compromised in their countries.
Granting asylum to stem cell researchers is part of a broader government policy. In 1999, the life sciences - medicine, pharmacy and biotechnology - were defined as one of the four "pillars of industry" in Singapore. The problem was that in Singapore there were very few companies, research institutions and researchers with any skill in these fields.
But Singapore's rulers usually get what they want. In just two years, they established two faculties and five research centers, and invested 1.7 billion dollars in a series of funds designed to encourage research, attract international biotechnology companies and finance local companies. According to James Tam, an American researcher recruited to the position of dean of one of the new faculties, the schedule was so tight that he had to start interviewing potential lecturers the day he arrived in Singapore, after reading their resumes on the plane.
Recruiting renowned researchers has been an important part of Singapore's efforts to advance its ambitions. Alan Coleman, head of the research team that cloned Dolly the sheep, joined ESI, an Australian company that started operating in Singapore after receiving funding from the government; Addison Liu, until recently a senior researcher at the National Cancer Research Center in the US, is now the head of Singapore's new Genome Institute; researcher Yoshiaki Ito was "abducted", along with his team of researchers, from Kyoto University to the Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology.
What attracts these star researchers to Singapore, apart from the rock star status they enjoy thanks to the local media, is the permissive research climate in Singapore. The government, for example, enthusiastically encourages stem cell research, instead of allowing it through gritted teeth as many governments do. It also allows cloned embryos to be studied up to 14 days after they were cloned. There are no countries that allow more than that. According to Dr. Tam, an equally important point is that approvals and funding for research are achieved in a short time, and in many cases only a friendly handshake is required.
We have to wait and see how quickly, if at all, this atmosphere will translate into results on the ground. Dr. Coleman will try to make stem cells turn into insulin-producing cells, which will be transplanted into the bodies of diabetics. Some of his colleagues at ESI want to turn stem cells into nerve cells, which can replace the cells damaged by Parkinson's disease. These are ideas that may be possible to realize, but the will require years of research.
A first hint of what was to come was earlier this month: Dr. Bongsu managed to solve a problem that could complicate all future stem cell-based treatment methods. Today, colonies of human stem cells must be grown on layers of tissue taken from mice. This method involves risk: viruses which are in the growth medium may penetrate into the stem cells. Dr. Bongsu succeeded in producing growth mediums from human tissues, and this time he made sure that the patent on the method registered in his name.
But to turn the patent into a profitable medical application, it will be necessary to involve investors, managers and other researchers. Furthermore, Singapore is not known as a melting pot of innovative ideas. It can import star scientists, but that may not be enough to generate real research excitement. The government's efforts to create a creative atmosphere through regulations only emphasize this. As written in one of the many chrome notebooks it produces, "innovation is not where it should be".
Economist
