Cloning expert 'faked research'

2005-12-15 18:40

Seoul - South Korean cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-Suk has admitted fabricating parts of his research which were published in the United States journal Science, reports quoting his fellow researcher said on Thursday.

Hwang has asked Science to retract his research paper, according to South Korea's three major television stations and the Hankyoreh newspaper. They quoted Roh Sung-Il, co-author of Hwang's stem cell research paper for the journal.

Hankyoreh quoted Roh, administrator of MizMedi Hospital who had provided human eggs for Hwang's research, as saying: "There were no stem cells cloned by Professor Hwang in his paper published in Science."

Roh made the comments after visiting Hwang at Seoul National University hospital earlier in the day, the daily said.

In his study, Hwang said he had cloned 11 human embryos and cultivated patient-specific stem cell lines from them.

Research authenticity probed

But allegations have emerged that the stem cells were not derived from the original patients and photographs accompanying the research paper may have been doctored.

SBS and KBS, the country's two major television networks, also carried similar remarks by Roh. He told KBS that of the 11 embryonic stem cells described in Hwang's study, nine were faked.

"Professor Hwang has agreed to retract his paper in Science. Other co-authors will follow suit," Ro said in an interview with MBC.

Scientists at Seoul National University launched a probe on Monday into the authenticity of Hwang's research.

Hwang went into hiding on November 24 after admitting that two of his staff had donated their eggs for his research, in violation of internationally accepted standards of medical ethics.

He later spent several days in hospital before resuming his work this week.

Retraction refused

Roh's comments came after Gerald Schatten, the US co-author of Hwang's research, wrote in a letter to Science that he wanted his name withdrawn from the paper.

Schatten also wrote that he had recommended to Hwang and all the other co-authors that the report should be retracted.

"My careful re-evaluations of published figures and tables, along with the problematic information, now casts substantial doubts about the paper's accuracy," Schatten said.

Science refused to retract the report, stating a retraction requires the agreement of all the report's authors.

In February 2004 Hwang produced the first stem cells from a cloned human embryo. He followed up in May 2005 by producing stem cells genetically matched to specific individuals from cloned embryos.

Stem cells are master cells that experts say can develop into any organ. They could have a valuable therapeutic use in treating illnesses ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, according to experts.

MBC, however, revealed Hwang's ethical lapses last month, triggering a groundswell of patriotic support for Hwang and anger at MBC.

- AFP