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South Korea Panel Seizes Stem Cell Scientist's Computer

Posted on: Monday, 19 December 2005, 02:45 CST

By Jon Herskovitz and Lee Jin-joo

SEOUL -- A South Korean university has seized the computer of an embattled stem cell scientist and will release the initial findings this week of a probe into whether his team actually made tailored stem cells, it said on Monday.

Scientist Hwang Woo-suk, who faces charges from collaborators that key parts of their landmark May 2005 paper on producing patient-specific stem cells were fabricated, has defended the veracity of the research.

Seoul National University said in a statement that a nine-member investigation committee started its probe into the findings of Hwang's team over the weekend.

The committee sealed off Hwang's office, collected material from his lab at the university and interviewed 24 team members.

"We placed a video camera over the stem cell cultivation office so that we can have 24 hour surveillance of those who enter and leave," the statement said.

The committee will perform DNA analysis on embryonic stem cells produced by the team to see if they match patients. University officials have said a briefing on the investigation is planned for Friday.

Hwang, who was questioned by the investigation committee over the weekend, has said he expects results by December 26 on testing of five sets of stem cells that were part of his original study.

His team published a study on tailored human embryonic stem cells in May in the journal Science.

The discovery was hailed around the world because it could one day lead to genetically matched tissue being generated to treat diseases such as Parkinson's or severe spinal cord injuries.

Hwang said last Friday he was retracting the paper from Science because of the dispute, even though he did not doubt his findings. He said a follow-up paper sent to another journal would restore faith in his work.

Hwang has called on prosecutors to look into the case, but officials from the prosecutors' office told South Korean media they would wait until the university's investigation was over before starting any of their own.

Last week, two of Hwang's co-authors of the Science paper -- Dr. Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Roh Sung-il, a Seoul specialist in fertility studies, questioned the credibility of the paper.

The University of Pittsburgh is also investigating.

Hwang first came under scrutiny on November 24 when he apologized for not revealing earlier that two junior women researchers had donated their eggs for his work.

Hwang is regarded as a national hero in South Korea for bringing the country to the forefront of embryonic stem cell research and cloning studies.

These fields are already under close scrutiny because of the use of human embryos and the connection to cloning. Some critics say the research involves the creation and destruction of human life in the lab.

Source: REUTERS

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