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case that brought down South Korean stem cell researcher Hwang Woo Suk early this year”. The Los Angeles Times editorial page bemoaned that, “Science took an unnecessary leap forward Wednesday,” by attempting to find a technological fix to address political and religious objections to stem-cell research. “It’s an impressive advance, but scientists — and society — would be better off if they could spend more time searching for ways to cure some of humankind’s most debilitating diseases and less time trying to satisfy the demands of politics.” Truth be told, the advance doesn’t even satisfy the demands of research. Scientists would really like to get stem cells to match the genetics of any given individual — not just a person undergoing in vitro fertilization. And they’d prefer a success rate better than 2 percent, which is all ACT had to offer. In a commentary for MSNBC, University of Pennsylvania ethicist Art Caplan said he was disappointed as he watched the story unfold on TV. “The media hype machine was running full throttle. But, why? The science involved is not going to lead to any sort of ethical breakthrough,” Caplan wrote. Among his concerns: clinics will still end up producing embryos — many of which will simply be thrown away because some people deem it unethical to do anything else with them. “Why not use the unwanted extra embryos rather than going through the rigmarole of pulling cells out of those that make it to the eight-cell stage?” Caplan asked. “What we have here is hype, not hope.”