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A scandal over the ethics of occyte procurement for a stem cell project
by leading Korean geneticist Prof. Hwang Woo-suk of Seoul National
University is blighting the already embattled public perception of U.S.
stem cell research, the Washington Post reported Saturday. If accusations that Hwang procured egg cells for research by
ethically dubious means ignite ¡°a new wave of political backlash¡± in
the U.S., the projects of researchers who looked to Hwang¡¯s team for
support will be in trouble, the paper said. The public withdrawal from
a joint project over the allegations by Prof. Gerald Schatten of the
University of Pittsburgh ¡°has stunned resource-hungry U.S. researchers,
many of whom had been lining up to take advantage of the South Korean's
techniques and enviable funding,¡± it said. The question whether everything in Hwang¡¯s procurement of ova was above board is becoming an international hot potato.
The British journal Nature has called for the Korean government
to investigate the ethical issues raised, and the U.S. journal Science
says it will take ¡°appropriate measures¡± over charges that Hwang¡¯s team
violated ethics by using egg cells donated by a junior researcher on
the team. In a Nov. 17 issue editorial titled ¡°Will the regulator please
stand up,¡± Nature said it was time for the Korean government to launch
a probe into Hwang¡¯s occyte procurement. Science headlined a lengthy feature, "Stem Cells:
Collaborators Split Over Ethics Allegations" in its Nov. 18 issue.
Science said its editor-in-chief Donald Kennedy was taking criticism of
Hwang ¡°very seriously,¡± adding it will take appropriate measures if the
allegations are corroborated. Hwang¡¯s team is preparing to respond to the charges at a press conference some time early next week.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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