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The U.S. journal Science has warned Prof. Gerald Schatten, cloning pioneer Prof. Hwang Woo-sukĄ¯s mercurial former collaborator, that he may soon find himself on the receiving end of an inquiry himself. The journal was responding to a letter from Schatten in which the University of Pittsburgh scientist asked his name to be stricken from the list of co-authors of a controversial paper on stem cells published in June. Science earlier said it was unable to comply since the removal of an author from a published paper requires the consent of all co-authors.
Science told Schatten in an e-mail that an author who earlier showed complete confidence in the assertions of the paper cannot then ask to have his name taken off it, nor did the journal have a mechanism whereby this can be done even if a paperĄ¯s contentions cannot be proven. Schatten severed ties with Hwang last month over ethical concerns.
The journal said the fact that an author now admits to difficulties in proving the authenticity of his original assertions could be understood as meaning that he had been misleading readers and could be subject to an investigation for misconduct. It put the ball in SchattenĄ¯s court by saying Science was awaiting answers to the questions about the paper it posed to him and the other authors. It reiterated it will not retract the article unless all authors wish it or agree once the official investigation is complete that the assertions made in the paper cannot not be verified.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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