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starrylizard Jan. 10th, 2006 04:33 pm)
starrylizard Jan. 10th, 2006 04:33 pm)OMG!! Just reading the latest news on www.science.com There's this big scandal in Korea, where a research group fabricated data on stem cell research. They got all these publications on how they had managed to produce the first patient-specific stem cells and it was hailed as a huge breakthrough, but really they hadn't done any of it.
Even more freaky to me, is this:
"...claimed that despite Hwang's statements to the contrary, some of the eggs used for that research came from junior researchers in Hwang's lab. Producer Kim says the scientist provided names, donation records, and an e-mail message he had received from one of the researchers saying she had donated eggs under pressure from Hwang. The tipster also claimed that based on his knowledge of the team's work, Hwang couldn't have produced the patient-specific stem cells reported in the 2005 paper, although he admitted having no hard evidence of fabrication."
That makes me feel queasy. I can't imagine having so few morals or ethical standards!
A few more quotes:
"PD Notebook reporters interviewed co-authors of the 2005 paper and found that the majority had never actually seen the cloned embryonic stem cells."
"Kim says that because one of the informers suggested that the stem cell lines in the 2005 paper could have come from MizMedi Hospital in Seoul, the producers requested and received the DNA fingerprinting data for 15 lines derived at the hospital from embryos created through in vitro fertilization. Through one of their sources, the producers got a sample of stem cell line number 2 and passed it to an independent testing laboratory. The lab found that line number 2 genetically matched a MizMedi line. "Did we actually have evidence that Hwang faked his research?" Han recalls wondering."
"On hidden camera, Kim then told Han he followed directions from Hwang to make photographs of two cell lines appear to represent 11 cell lines."
"...program containing allegations that donors were paid for eggs used in the research leading to the 2004 paper, that junior lab members were among the donors, and that Hwang had lied about the oocyte sources in the Science paper. Two days later, Hwang admitted in a press conference that he knew about junior members donating eggs but lied to protect their privacy. He resigned as director of the newly announced Stem Cell Hub but vowed to continue his research."
The program was forced to not show the interviews etc, because they had used unethical tactics to obtain them... but then...
"...a contributor to a BRIC Internet message board placed a cryptic post with the English header, "The show must go on …" The anonymous poster suggested that readers look for duplicated pictures among the supporting online material accompanying the 2005 Science paper. The poster ended his message with the tease: "I found two! There are rumors that there are more …"
...More than 200 posts followed, identifying apparently duplicated photographs. There was also an online discussion about whether someone should inform Science. Someone did e-mail Science editors pointing out the duplicated photos. By that time, however, Hwang had already notified the journal of what he termed an accidental duplication of some of the photos."
"But the BRIC posts continued. On 6 December, another anonymous BRIC poster wrote that there appeared to be duplications in the DNA fingerprinting traces and posted evidence to support that claim the following day. At about this time, the BRIC postings were reported in the general Korean media and then picked up worldwide."
Yay for the internet. See us scientists are internet savvy too...and he was finally forced to withdraw the paper!!
Gods! It's all so cloak and dagger and scandalous and how anyone could have so little scientific integrity. A final quote - "Among the revelations, PD Notebook alleges that Hwang's team collected more than 1600 oocytes from egg donors--not the 427 originally reported--for cloning research for the 2004 and 2005 papers."
I mean with stuff like this occationally popping up, it's no wonder the public are scared about the things us scientists do. There are so many commitees and governing bodies overseeing our research and what we do...especially where genetic and reproductive research is concerned...and yet it is so easy still to skirt around them. Damn, I am a scientist and shit like this scares the pants off me! I'm fuming mad right now!
Read the article here.
Even more freaky to me, is this:
"...claimed that despite Hwang's statements to the contrary, some of the eggs used for that research came from junior researchers in Hwang's lab. Producer Kim says the scientist provided names, donation records, and an e-mail message he had received from one of the researchers saying she had donated eggs under pressure from Hwang. The tipster also claimed that based on his knowledge of the team's work, Hwang couldn't have produced the patient-specific stem cells reported in the 2005 paper, although he admitted having no hard evidence of fabrication."
That makes me feel queasy. I can't imagine having so few morals or ethical standards!
A few more quotes:
"PD Notebook reporters interviewed co-authors of the 2005 paper and found that the majority had never actually seen the cloned embryonic stem cells."
"Kim says that because one of the informers suggested that the stem cell lines in the 2005 paper could have come from MizMedi Hospital in Seoul, the producers requested and received the DNA fingerprinting data for 15 lines derived at the hospital from embryos created through in vitro fertilization. Through one of their sources, the producers got a sample of stem cell line number 2 and passed it to an independent testing laboratory. The lab found that line number 2 genetically matched a MizMedi line. "Did we actually have evidence that Hwang faked his research?" Han recalls wondering."
"On hidden camera, Kim then told Han he followed directions from Hwang to make photographs of two cell lines appear to represent 11 cell lines."
"...program containing allegations that donors were paid for eggs used in the research leading to the 2004 paper, that junior lab members were among the donors, and that Hwang had lied about the oocyte sources in the Science paper. Two days later, Hwang admitted in a press conference that he knew about junior members donating eggs but lied to protect their privacy. He resigned as director of the newly announced Stem Cell Hub but vowed to continue his research."
The program was forced to not show the interviews etc, because they had used unethical tactics to obtain them... but then...
"...a contributor to a BRIC Internet message board placed a cryptic post with the English header, "The show must go on …" The anonymous poster suggested that readers look for duplicated pictures among the supporting online material accompanying the 2005 Science paper. The poster ended his message with the tease: "I found two! There are rumors that there are more …"
...More than 200 posts followed, identifying apparently duplicated photographs. There was also an online discussion about whether someone should inform Science. Someone did e-mail Science editors pointing out the duplicated photos. By that time, however, Hwang had already notified the journal of what he termed an accidental duplication of some of the photos."
"But the BRIC posts continued. On 6 December, another anonymous BRIC poster wrote that there appeared to be duplications in the DNA fingerprinting traces and posted evidence to support that claim the following day. At about this time, the BRIC postings were reported in the general Korean media and then picked up worldwide."
Yay for the internet. See us scientists are internet savvy too...and he was finally forced to withdraw the paper!!
Gods! It's all so cloak and dagger and scandalous and how anyone could have so little scientific integrity. A final quote - "Among the revelations, PD Notebook alleges that Hwang's team collected more than 1600 oocytes from egg donors--not the 427 originally reported--for cloning research for the 2004 and 2005 papers."
I mean with stuff like this occationally popping up, it's no wonder the public are scared about the things us scientists do. There are so many commitees and governing bodies overseeing our research and what we do...especially where genetic and reproductive research is concerned...and yet it is so easy still to skirt around them. Damn, I am a scientist and shit like this scares the pants off me! I'm fuming mad right now!
Read the article here.
