WITH only a fraction of the publicity of the last "giant step" for mankind, when Neil Armstrong stepped on the Moon in 1969, South Korean researchers have created the first embryonic stem cells genetically tailored to match a group of patients.
It opens the doors in the future - many years away - to revolutionary treatments for some of mankind's most devastating illnesses and a way round one of modern science's most intractable problems, the way the body rejects implanted organs.
The key is the growth of a stem cell or "mother cell", with the ability to develop into different kinds of tissue, cloned from the patient's own cells. Scientists hope to use them to provide replacement cells as treatments for a host of diseases and conditions, many of which are incurable today.
None of this will happen quickly but there is the prospect of growing replacement brain, muscle bone and organ tissue in the laboratory, maybe even further down the line growing whole hearts, livers and limbs.
Some of the uses are obvious: tackling degenerative brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, insulin-dependent diabetes, and spinal cord injuries.
There is an ethical argument against, of course, the big fear being that this brings nearer the day when mavericks can create cloned babies.
It seems to us that trying to halt this line of research, with its many clear advantages, is as futile as trying to talk the tide into turning back.
Task for the teachers
THE Government, to its credit, is acting quickly on Tony Blair's pledge to tackle disrespect in our society.
The news of a new task force to tackle unruly behaviour in schools certainly sounds impressive. That would be on most people's list of priorities in this matter.
Teachers and heads who are experts in school discipline, will advise the Government on how to improve standards of behaviour.
And new schools minister Jacqui Smith seems to have the right focus with her comment that "We cannot simply legislate bad behaviour out of the classroom. It has to be delivered on the ground by teachers with the full backing of parents."
