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Probe into 'fake stem cell work'S. Korean stem cell scientist to speak on allegations
 Hwang Woo-suk 
RELATEDQUICKVOTELIFE-CHANGING TECH
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSSEOUL, South Korea (Reuters) -- One of South Korea's leading universities has said it will step up an investigation into the country's top stem-cell scientist after reports key parts of a landmark paper were fabricated. Thursday's reports brought to a head a controversy over work by Hwang Woo-suk, whose team at Seoul National University published the first scientific paper on cloning a human embryo in 2004 and this year displayed the world's first cloned dog. "Seoul National University will probe doubts raised about (Hwang's) 2005 thesis first and, if the doubts are confirmed, will replicate experiments," the university said in a statement on Friday, referring to a study on tailor-made human stem cells published in May. The case has wide ramifications for the already controversial field of stem-cell research and for the prestige of South Korea, where Hwang has become a folk hero. Hwang -- a charismatic figure pictured with the cloned puppy earlier this year and more recently filmed unshaven in hospital suffering from exhaustion -- was in a meeting and did not attend a news conference at which the university statement was read. He may brief reporters at 0500 GMT. The professor, who was 53 on Thursday, has been under scrutiny since November 24 when he apologized for two junior female researchers donating their eggs for his work and for not releasing information about that incident promptly. Roe Jung-hye, the university's dean of research affairs, told reporters the review team would send Hwang's team a questionnaire on Monday and a conclusion could be reached in one or two weeks. She said the reports raised fresh doubts about Hwang's work. The probe, already arranged before the latest reports surfaced, would go on even if Hwang confirmed the study had flaws. Just two months ago, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun opened a World Stem Cell Hub centre, billed as a project to put the country at the forefront of cloning research. If the pinpointed study proves to be flawed or false it would rank as one of the biggest science fraud cases in years. "I am sure anti stem-cell activists will use this to show that there are problems with this science and that it is not effectively regulated," said David Winickoff, assistant professor of bioethics at the University of California, Berkeley. Shares in South Korean firms involved in biotechnology -- a key growth area for Asia's fourth-largest economy -- were down by their daily limit of 15 percent. Overall sentiment suffered, too. Tailor-made"Even though other sectors have no relation to the news, there has been an indirect impact on market sentiment," said Kim Joong-hyun, an analyst at Goodmorning Shinhan Securities. "From a Korean perspective, the news was shocking." Government officials held a meeting on the case on Friday. "The government will decide whether to continue to support Hwang team's research after we have results of Seoul National University investigation," a government spokesman said. A U.S. cloning and stem-cell expert who had lent his name and prestige to Hwang's work, Dr. Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, earlier this week alleged there may have been fabrications and asked to have his name taken off a study he co-authored with Hwang. On Thursday, Roh Sung-il, a hospital administrator and specialist in fertility studies who worked directly with Hwang, said his colleague had admitted there were fabrications in the second study on tailor-made human stem cells. "Professor Hwang admitted to fabrication," Roh said on South Korea's MBC television. Roh told media nine of the 11 stem-cell lines -- batches -- that were part of the tailored stem study paper were fabricated and the authenticity of the other two was questionable. Reports in South Korean media said some photographic images of the stem-cell lines may have been manipulated to make it appear as if there were 11 separate lines, or batches. Hwang had recently asked Science to correct some images in his study. Science said it had heard nothing from Hwang so far. Another television network, KBS, quoted Roh as saying: "I agreed with Hwang to ask for it (the paper) to be withdrawn." In the disputed study, Hwang's team reported they had used a cloning method called somatic cell nuclear transfer to create lines of genetically identical stem cells from nine different patients, most with a rare neurological disease. The study appeared to fulfil one promise of embryonic stem-cell research -- the ability to tailor medicine to individuals, and to study a patient's disease in the laboratory. Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 
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