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Cloning researcher Hwang Woo-suk and his team used at least 2,061 human eggs from donors in their experiments but were unable to show evidence that they produced a single stem cell from them, a panel investigating the veterinarian¡¯s efforts finds. In its final report released Tuesday, the Seoul National University panel also provided fodder for fresh ethics debate by revealing that Hwang passed out standard consent forms to women researchers on his team to procure their ova.
At a packed press conference in the morning, the panel said both Hwang¡¯s 2004 paper for the U.S. magazine Science on stem cells from cloned embryos and a follow-up article in 2005 on patient-specific stem cells were based on fabricated data. However, DNA tests persuaded the panel that Afghan hound Snuppy is really the world¡¯s first cloned dog.
Chung Myung-hee, the panel chairman, said the experts were able to confirm the use of 2,061 eggs from 129 donors by Hwang's team, hinting there may have been even more. Chung also revealed that the head of MizMedi Hospital Roh Sung-il, a Hwang collaborator who earlier admitted paying women for donations, performed egg extraction operations with researchers from the team present.
The panel said SNU veterinarian Prof. Kang Sung-keun led the arrangement and fabrication of data for the 2005 article published in Science. It also revealed the deep involvement of Prof. Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh, who was given the data by Kang, wrote the 2004 article and answered queries during the peer review that preceded publication in Science.
The panel said although Hwang's team could show no evidence that they had the so-called source technology to produce stem cells from cloned human embryos, as Hwang insists, they appear to have attained a certain level of international competency in animal cloning. It also acknowledged the achievement and originality of the team¡¯s work in successfully growing cloned somatic cells to the blastocyst stage -- an early stage in embryonic development -- by removing the nucleus from the egg and replacing it with that of the somatic cell.
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Prosecutors slapped overseas travel bans on key witnesses in an investigation of Hwang Woo-suk¡¯s allegation that someone maliciously swapped patient-specific stem cells the disgraced stem cell researcher claims his team created. Clockwise from left, they are: the head of the MizMedi Hospital Roh Sung-il, Hwang, Prof. Ahn Cu-rie of Seoul National University, researcher Kim Seon-jong, and Prof. Lee Byeong-chun and Prof. Kang Sung-keun, both of SNU./Yonhap
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Meanwhile, Seoul District Public Prosecutors Office expressed complete confidence in the panel¡¯s report. The office has embarked on a criminal investigation of Hwang¡¯s allegation that the reason no stem cells bearing out his claims could be found was that someone maliciously switched them. An investigative team started work on Tuesday by closely examining the panel¡¯s report. It is deciding when to summon Hwang and his colleagues and whether to conduct search and seizure operations.
A prosecution official said the investigation¡¯s main focus was on Hwang¡¯s allegations. But its course will naturally touch on questions such as the source of US$50,000 handed out by close colleagues of Hwang. And while the scientific fabrication itself is not a target of legal action, any application for research grants on false pretences could be subject to fraud charges, he said. The official said the probe will not require any additional examination of the stem cells.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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