Stem Cell Researcher Questioned in S. Korea

A South Korean researcher who worked with disgraced scientist Hwang Woo Suk told a university investigation panel that, under orders from Hwang, he had duplicated photos to support now-suspect claims of breakthrough stem cell findings, a report said Sunday.

Kim Sun Jong, one of three researchers formerly on Hwang’s team who now works at the University of Pittsburgh, flew to South Korea late Saturday and was immediately taken to Seoul National University for questioning, Yonhap news agency reported.

A panel of experts investigating the extent to which Hwang’s team fabricated 11 colonies of cloned stem cells grilled Kim until 6 a.m. Sunday, Yonhap said.

Kim told the panel that Hwang had instructed him to submit several duplicate photos of stem cell colonies to make it look as though there were 11 separate lines, the news agency said.

On Friday, the panel said Hwang had fabricated at least nine of the 11 stem cell lines he claimed to have created in a May article in the journal Science, a breakthrough that scientists had seen as a key step to creating tailored therapies for hard-to-treat diseases.

Hwang apologized for the scandal and stepped down as professor at Seoul National University but continues to insist that his team perfected the technology to create patient-matched stem cells, which have the potential to develop into any bodily tissue.

New DNA test results expected within days should prove whether Hwang was able to clone any stem cells -- or create the world’s first cloned human embryo and the only cloned dog, an Afghan hound, as he has asserted.