SEOUL - South Korean cloning pioneer Hwang Woo-Suk on Friday
denied fabricating key parts of his landmark research on the
production of patient-specific stem cells.
But he asked Science, the respected scientific journal, to retract
his research paper published in June, saying it was flawed.
Hwang, 52 insisted that he created 11 patient-specific stem cell
lines from cloned embryos as reported in his paper.
Asked whether he wished to revise information concerning the
production of the 11 stem cell lines, he said: "No change."
But he said that there were "irretrievable mistakes in the
photography," that accompanied the research paper.
"I requested that Science magazine retract the research paper after
getting consent from other co-authors," he told a press conference
here.
Hwang said in the study he had cloned 11 human embryos and
cultivated patient-specific stem cell lines from them, a major
breakthrough in therapeutic stem cell research.
On Thursday, Roh Sung-Il, a fertility expert who co-authored
Hwang's study published by Science, accused his colleague of
fabrication.
In media interviews, Roh said at least nine out of the 11 stem cell
lines never existed.
"Of the 11 stem cell lines, at least nine are faked and the
veracity of the two others has yet to be confirmed," he said.
Gaunt and unsmiling, Hwang read a lengthy statement rebutting the
allegations before answering questions.
"What I can say clearly is that we have produced patient-specific
stem cells and we have the technology to do so," he said.
Hwang said that of the 11 stem cell lines, six had perished due to
contamination and five other lines were frozen but could be
revived.
He said they were being thawed and would be ready for testing
within 10 days to prove the veracity of his research.
He added that he would welcome a probe by prosecutors to determine
whether any wrongdoing took place.
Seoul National University has already launched an investigation
into Hwang's work led by Lee Wang-Jae, a senior medical
researcher.
Last month, Hwang admitted using human eggs donated by junior
researchers, violating internationally accepted ethical
standards.
But the credibility of his entire research was challenged by
allegations that the stem cells he claimed to have produced did not
match donor cells and that photographs illustrating Hwang's
research in Science had been faked. - AFP/ir