China has seen a boost in stem-cell research during the past two years. The country's leaders are spending lavishly on laboratories working on therapeutic cloning as a way to tackle degenerative diseases.

In this feature article Carina Dennis reports that, with this financial support, and in a culture in which there are few moral objections to the use of embryonic stem cells, expatriate Chinese biologists have rushed back home.

But even if China's stem-cell pioneers succeed in developing therapies for degenerative diseases, the cost of such treatment could put the therapies out of the reach of most of the population.

Link to Nature feature article

Reference: Nature 419, 334 (2002)