Xiangzhong "Jerry" Yang

I would like to remember the late Xiangzhong “Jerry” Yang, a great scientist who passed away on February 5, 2009 after a long battle with cancer at the age of 49.

Jerry escaped starvation in China as a child to become one of the most prestigious scientists in the United States. He is remembered for his scientific breakthroughs that included successfully cloning a farm animal for the first time in the United States and proving that early reports suggesting that clones would age prematurely were false.

However, Yang passed away before achieving his dream of cloning a human embryo that could be used for potentially lifesaving stem cells.

According to Dr. Robert Lanza, chief science officer at Advanced Cell Technology (ACTC), “[Yang] was a really great man who struggled to his last hours to better the world and to advance the scientific cause.”