Singapore

OVER THE FIRST six years since 2000, it has been estimated that S$1.5 billion (US$949 million) has already been spent on biotechnology in Singapore. The main attractions to stem cell research in Singapore are not purely financial incentives. The country has one of the developed world's most liberal laws on the use of human embryonic cells, with the industry in Singapore gaining a large boost after constraints were placed on stem cell research in the United States by President George W. Bush. In Singapore, the current law allows stem cells to be taken from aborted fetuses or any discarded embryos, and these embryos are allowed to be cloned and retained for up to 14 days to produce stem cells.

Another attraction has also been the creation ...