Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Spectacular science fraud shakes stem cell field
ap on San Diego Union Tribune ^ | 12/23/05 | Paul Elias and Malcolm Ritter - ap

Posted on 12/23/2005 5:58:55 PM PST by NormsRevenge

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Scientists fretted Friday that a spectacular cloning fraud that hid in plain sight has set back legitimate stem cell work around the world.

Cloning experts and stem cell scientists said research in the potentially revolutionary field of regenerative medicine will continue unabated. But they said public confidence in their work had been weakened by a sham branded by experts as the most visible case of scientific fraud they could recall.

Scientists also struggled to explain how they didn't earlier catch the charismatic South Korean veterinarian's claim in a Science paper published in May that he cloned 11 human embryos to produce stem cells.

"That's a difficult one," said Keith Campbell, the University of Nottingham researcher who helped clone Dolly the sheep in 1997. "Scientists are asked to referee a lot of papers and to a certain extent we have to believe each other as to the validity of the data."

A disgraced Hwang Woo-suk resigned from Seoul National University on Friday after the school said the researcher fabricated groundbreaking cloning and stem-cell research that had raised hopes of new cures for hard-to-treat diseases.

When Hwang published findings in February 2004 and again in May, it was believed he had developed a new cloning method that enabled him to accomplish something no one else had.

Hwang chalked up much of the success to South Korean government support and dedicated researchers working around the clock. He also credited his workers' dexterity with chopsticks; stem cell researchers visited from around the world and rushed back to their labs to try the new technique.

The journal Science said it would retract the May paper and investigate Hwang's 2004 paper that claimed the first cloned human embryo.

"It's a stain on the honor and integrity of the whole field," said Dr. Robert Lanza, a cloning expert at the biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology. "It has sent a lot of scientists on a wild goose chase and down false paths."

Stem cells are created in the first days after conception and mature into every cell in the human body. Scientist hope to use stem cells as replacement parts for failing organs and to treat diabetes, Parkinson's and other diseases.

Researchers want to harvest stem cells by cloning the DNA of sick people, so they could turn the cells into tissue that genetically matches a patient. That way, the patient wouldn't have to take the anti-rejection drugs used in organ transplants today. Also, researchers hope to use cloned stem cells to study how diseases begin and develop.

No researcher in the United States is known to be actively trying to a clone a human embryo, though two teams at Harvard University have asked school officials for permission.

Doug Melton, who leads one of the Harvard cloning projects, vowed Friday that the work will continue despite the scandal.

"This sad news from Korea in no way weakens our belief in all the demonstrably valid experiments indicating that stem cell science holds the promise of eventually providing the basis of treatments and cures for numerous presently intractable chronic diseases," Melton said in an e-mail. "It simply means that we still need to take important steps we thought had already been taken."

Two experts in scientific misconduct called the Hwang scandal the most visible case of scientific fraud they could think of.

That's because unlike many other cases, Hwang's purported achievement drew so much public attention in the first place, said Nicholas Steneck of the University of Michigan.

"His research was front-page research, and then it was discovered that he falsified. Most of the other ones, it's that they falsified that made it front-page research," he said.

The controversy over embryonic stem cells made Hwang's claims so newsworthy, said Fred Grinnell, founder of the ethics in science and medicine program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

"This is a case where lots of people have been talking about stem cells and embryos and whether it's right to do it or not to do it, and how the U.S. is falling behind, and how there's great work going on in Korea. And all of a sudden it appears to be all fake," Grinnell said.

Both men said other fraud cases have been more extensive.

Grinnell cited the case of Eric Poehlman, once a professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, who made up research between 1992 and 2000 in areas including menopause, aging and hormone supplements to get millions of dollars in federal grant money.

"To me, that's the worst case of this kind that I've ever heard of" because he got away with it for so long, Grinnell said.

Similarly, Steneck noted the case of Jan Hendrik Schon, who had become a star at Bell Labs but then was fired in 2002 for falsifying data from electronics experiments. An investigatory committee concluded that he made up or altered data at least 16 times between 1998 and 2001.

In contrast, Steneck said, only one paper by Hwang has been shown to be fraudulent, at least so far.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: cloning; field; fraud; hwang; hwangwoosuk; science; shakes; spectacular; stemcell; stemcells
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-45 next last
To: Leatherneck_MT

I bow to you sir.


21 posted on 12/23/2005 6:22:03 PM PST by ndt
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: ndt
what ever scientific field you disagree with must be wrong.

Nope, just that science has its' share of frauds and must be held to account.

The amazing Tasaday tribe

The krypton factor

Trofim Lysenko

Charles Redheffer

Jan Henrik Schön

22 posted on 12/23/2005 6:22:22 PM PST by razorback-bert
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge

This is an example of why critical analysis in science is so important. You can never take one study or finding and make extrapolations until the methodology has gone through peer review.


23 posted on 12/23/2005 6:23:56 PM PST by stacytec (Nihilism, its whats for dinner)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: razorback-bert
"Nope, just that science has its' share of frauds and must be held to account."

That is what peer review is all about. Speaking of that, does anyone have a link to a description of HOW this came out.
24 posted on 12/23/2005 6:24:51 PM PST by ndt
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: ndt
Nope. Just means that folks will act in their own self interest to the exclusion of truth and others will go along to hear what they want to hear as long as it reinforces their worldview.

Just like the 'scientists' in the church of evolution.

25 posted on 12/23/2005 6:26:26 PM PST by keithtoo (Leftists/Democrats - Traitors, Haters and Vacillators)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge
A disgraced Hwang Woo-suk

They should've known, somebody with that name...

26 posted on 12/23/2005 6:44:43 PM PST by danmar ("Reason obeys itself,and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it....... Thomas Paine)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: razorback-bert
public confidence in their work had been weakened by a sham branded by experts as the most visible case of scientific fraud they could recall.

Chernobyl? DDT? Acid Rain?

27 posted on 12/23/2005 6:44:56 PM PST by Mr. Peabody
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge

Politics, Science and MSM do we really need the unholy alliance?


28 posted on 12/23/2005 6:45:14 PM PST by TexasTransplant (NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSET)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

Comment #29 Removed by Moderator

To: razorback-bert

Cold Fusion... (I still WANT to believe)


30 posted on 12/23/2005 6:47:14 PM PST by TexasTransplant (NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSET)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: keithtoo

BTTT


31 posted on 12/23/2005 6:51:45 PM PST by 185JHP ( "The thing thou purposest shall come to pass: And over all thy ways the light shall shine.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: ndt
EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH

It is obvious, even to laymen, that scientific research in stem cells is viable and potentially another break-though in science and health care.

Adults can provide stem cells for research.
Discarded umbilical cords have promising results. Stem cells are readily available for serious scientific research.

EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH is unethical and junk science.
32 posted on 12/23/2005 6:53:32 PM PST by sarasmom (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: keithtoo

Maybe it was "fake but accurate".


33 posted on 12/23/2005 7:10:45 PM PST by BenLurkin (O beautiful for patriot dream - that sees beyond the years)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge

Makes me wonder how many other scientific breakthroughs are true or false.


34 posted on 12/23/2005 7:11:41 PM PST by Paul_Denton (The U.S. should adopt the policy of Oom Shmoom: Israeli policy where no one gives a sh*t about U.N.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge

they didn't catch it because they wanted to believe it was true the same way they want to believe humans are causing global warming.


35 posted on 12/23/2005 7:32:02 PM PST by conservative physics
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ndt
"Jim and Tammy were frauds, just like Paul and Jan."

And does that mean Christianity is a fraud? If not, why not?

Your oppponent did not say that all of science was suspect, but pointed out that there is fraud that goes unchecked (for a time) in science. In other words, the validation mechanisms have been proven to be only partially efficacious. (Think "random walk" vs. "perfect markets" in Wall Street trading and you'll get the idea.)

Jesus Himself predicted the presence of frauds (parable of the wheat and tares); said that there would be people who had performed miracles in His name whom He would disown; and predicted the performance of acts to deceive, if possible, "the very elect".

Similarly a number of the New Testament epistles are replete with warnings of hucksters and frauds attempting to prey on Christians.

So the actual fulfillment of the predictions of Christ and the apostles are supposed to be a refutation of their teachings?

BAH! HUMBUG! :-)

Cheers!

36 posted on 12/23/2005 7:40:57 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: ndt
That is what peer review is all about. Speaking of that, does anyone have a link to a description of HOW this came out. Then please re-read the article. It details how even peer review failed to catch the fraud until after the fact. And IIRC somewhere in the article, or later in the thread, it says that bloggers caught the guy. Think Dan Rather and Memogate...

"That's a difficult one," said Keith Campbell, the University of Nottingham researcher who helped clone Dolly the sheep in 1997. "Scientists are asked to referee a lot of papers and to a certain extent we have to believe each other as to the validity of the data."

37 posted on 12/23/2005 7:43:46 PM PST by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: ndt
No, because this man is a fraud it just goes to show you how far you can get in the business of hyping "embryonic stem cells" because there are so terribly many out there who really want to "believe" this is a legitimate line of research!

As I recall Californians voted to incur billions of dollars of additional debt to finance the quack claims of yet more fraudulent researchers. They did so in response to this Korean researchers claims. Somebody said "Gee, gosh, unless we waste billions too, the Koreans will take over the entire field".

38 posted on 12/23/2005 7:49:36 PM PST by muawiyah (-)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge

for reference on stem cells that do appear to actually do some good
but just aren't "cool" enough for the media:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/010/24.71.html

Live Patients & Dead Mice
The little-known story of the stem cells that actually work.
by David A. Prentice


39 posted on 12/23/2005 8:01:46 PM PST by VOA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: NormsRevenge

Seeing how the scientist are now trying to figure out what ethics mean
in a materialistic world...
an intriguing look into the ethics of the folks in the embryonic stem cell field:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/010/23.66.html

Ethics Interrupted
What does it mean when even embryonic stem-cell researchers have some qualms about their work?
by Christine A. Scheller


40 posted on 12/23/2005 8:04:33 PM PST by VOA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-45 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson