Some vindication for S. Korean scientist?

A South Korean who worked with Hwang Woo-Suk, the scientist accused of faking results, says their claim to have cloned stem cells will be vindicated.

Professor Kang Sung-keun of Seoul National University told the Korea Times that tests show a stem cell line featured in their report in Science has genetic material from two parents. A university panel found that Stem Cell Line No. 1 was created from an unfertilized egg.

The panel found signs that the cells' genetic material did not match the original donor.

"The university may have made an error, as such phenomenon can happen in cancerous cells, which share a lot of characteristics with stem cells," Kang said. "That means that the cell line may indeed be a cloned but damaged one.".

Hwang has already enjoyed a measure of vindication. A report last week in Nature said that Snuppy, claimed by Hwang to be the first cloned dog, is the real McCoy.

Hwang's claim to have developed patient-specific stem cells has been determined to be fraudulent.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International

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