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December 25, 2005
Investigation finds that stem cell results were faked
Topics:The South Korean scientist at the centre of a storm regarding stem cell research has resigned his position of professor at the University of South Korea, after an investigation found that the results of his research had been faked.
The paper written by Hwang in May claimed that he had been able to duplicate human stem cells, but in reality the same set of cells had been split into two tubes.
The result of the investigation is a set back for stem cell research and cloning in particular. However, this is good news because it means that science is not as far advanced as expected when it comes to the ability to clone human beings.
From another point of view, if the research was being done on adult stem cells for the purpose of treating certain diseases then it is not good news, because it would mean that treatment for auto-immune diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Arthritis etc is further away than expected.
In resigning his position, Hwang has apologised for his deception. Perhaps he will have learned a valuable lesson about scientific deception, especially when we have such an unforgiving scientific community.
Posted by at December 25, 2005 2:12 PM
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