World-renowned stem cell scientists from South Korea and Scotland will meet this month to discuss ways of making further breakthroughs in the cloning research. Scottish embryologist Ian Wilmut of the Roslin Institute plans to visit Korea to meet with Seoul National University (SNU) Professor Hwang Woo-suk on April 6. "The two scientists are expected to talk about establishing a joint stem cell research program," said Professor Kang Sung-keun of SNU, one of Hwang's top colleagues. After meeting with Hwang early in the morning, Wilmut plans to speak at a seminar at the university aimed at helping the general public understand life science. The meeting is attracting attention as both scientists have gained worldwide recognition due to their exploits in the area of stem cell research. Hwang became globally well known early last year by cloning human embryos and established stem cell lines from them for the first time in history. His feat caught many researchers by surprise because the consensus then was that it was impossible to harvest stem cells after cloning human somatic cells. Wilmut was the first to clone a mammal, a lamb named Dolly, by combining a somatic cell with a de-nucleated embryonic cell in 1996 at the Roslin Institute. Currently, Wilmut is waiting for government approval to undertake a series of experiments involving the cloning of human embryos as part of search for a cure for Lou Gehrig's Disease, which results in serious muscle atrophy. "Hwang and Wilmut have met several times before, but it will be the first time Wilmut has visited Korea and we expect good results from the meeting," Kang said.