Scientists shocked at extent of stem cell research scam

Hwang Woo Suk

Scientists involved in the revolutionary field of stem cell research were shocked yesterday at the full extent of the scientific fraud that led to the downfall of one of their own pioneers.

An investigation by Seoul National University in South Korea found that its most feted scientist, Professor Woo Suk Hwang, fabricated stem cell data on an unprecedented scale.

Professor Hwang claimed to have cloned the first human embryo in 2004 and followed this up a year later with a claim that he had derived individually-tailored stem cells from a further 11 cloned embryos.

But neither of these claims were true.

Professor Hwang fabricated data and manipulated photographs to fool the world that his laboratory had made decisive scientific break-throughs.

Instead of cloning human embryos, Professor Hwang used embryos created by the normal process of sexual fertilisation.

He also failed to produce any evidence for "lines" of stored stem cells derived from cloned embryos.

The revelations of scientific fraud have dented the credibility of the entire field of therapeutic cloning, which once promised to treat incurable conditions such as Parkinson's and heart disease.

David King, director of Human Genetics Alert, said that Professor Hwang's lies vindicated the argument that therapeutic cloning is a mirage based on scientific deceit.

"So-called therapeutic cloning is a technological fantasy and it is high time that the scientific establishment came clean and admitted the fact," he said.

But British stem cell scientists tried yesterday to limit the extraordinary damage to the reputation of their field, although they could not hide the dismay they felt towards Professor Hwang.

"DNA analysis these days is so routine that this fraud ranks almost as a schoolboy prank," said Professor Malcolm Alison, a cell scientist at Queen Mary University of London.

Nevertheless, Professor Hwang's "prank" fooled dozens of learned specialists who had poured over his two scientific papers published in the journal Science and had heaped praise on his achievements.

"All of us who admired Hwang are deeply saddened by this revelation," said Stephen Minger, a stem cell scientist at Kings College London who had hoped to exploit the South Korean findings.

Professor Alison Murdoch of Newcastle University, who is part of the only team now to have cloned an early-stage human embryo, said that the revelations are a setback for the entire field.

"It is a major blow that human therapeutic cloning now looks to be much more of a challenge than his recent reports led us to believe," Professor Murdoch said.

The Seoul National University investigation into Professor Hwang found that just about the only thing that was true about his research was his claim to have cloned the world's first dog, an Afghan hound called Snuppy.

However, the investigation also found that Professor Hwang repeatedly lied when he said that he had not used human eggs from his own female students - it emerged that he had even accompanied one of them to the hospital where the operation was carried out.

But the biggest blow was the realisation that neither of the two Science studies published in 2004 and 2005 could be trusted because each is littered with fabricated data.

The investigation committee said that not all the wrong-doings of the Hwang team have been identified and a criminal investigation may follow into the misuse of public funds.

"However, that the publications are fabricated alone mandates a severe penalty by the academia," the committee said yesterday in a statement.

"These individuals cannot be regarded to represent science in Korea."The "scandalous case of Woo Suk Hwang" will not have a large impact on the wider scientific community, and should lead to a better management of science in Korea, it added.

"The young scientists who courageously pointed out the fallacy and precipitated the initiation of this investigation are our hope for the future," the committee said.

Professor Hwang was unavailable for comment.

- INDEPENDENT