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SNU to examine Hwang's Work

SNU to examine Hwang's work

Stem-cell pioneer asks university to clear up suspicions

Scientist Hwang Woo-suk yesterday asked Seoul National University to investigate his research to clear new suspicions on fabricated data in his breakthrough stem-cell cloning.

The university convened a meeting of senior officials after Hwang's request and agreed to conduct an inquiry, school officials said. Hwang is a veterinary professor at the university.

"We have decided to re-examine the research because Dr. Hwang himself wants it," Roe Jung-hye, chief of research policy office of the university, told reporters after the meeting. The university will hold a news conference today and announce the schedule and method for the investigation, she added. Hwang is determined to prove the authenticity of his research and wants to return to work as early as possible, said Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu after meeting the scientist. Hwang has been treated at the SNU hospital for exhaustion and a stomach ulcer since early last week. Sohn said Hwang is likely to be discharged from the hospital early this week.

Some Korean scientists have called for an investigation since last week on the possible manipulation of pictures and DNA data in his research published in the journal Science in June. Hwang's team announced in the paper that it had successfully produced 11 different stem cells tailored to individual patients, paving the way for future development of therapies for hard-to-cure diseases such as spinal cord injuries, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease. His critics say that some photographs of stem cells may have been fabricated and the DNA fingerprints of stem cells are "inexplicable."

On Thursday, 30 junior faculty members of SNU demanded the school conduct an inquiry into possible scientific errors in his work. Experts said eight of a total of 11 images of stem cells, published online by Science as a supplement to the article, may have been copied and manipulated from two stem cells. He also faced questions regarding the similarity of DNA fingerprint traces of human somantic cells and stem cells in the paper. Any DNA fingerprints will differ in their peak's height, alignment and background noise. But experts say several traces in Hwang's paper seem identical, raising suspicion that the traces may have been faked. They even doubted whether cloned stem cells exist. Hwang's team denied such suspicions in a statement issued yesterday. Hwang's team admitted the photos were duplicated but said it was a simple mistake that occurred during publication. The journal also said that the original manuscript reviewed by peer scientists had 11 different photos and the duplicated images were provided by co-author of the article Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh after a request for high resolution copies. Regarding the DNA fingerprints, Hwang's fellow researchers said some of the traces look similar because they were tested in the same conditions. And they said the peaks of those cells are not identical when they are magnified. Hwang's team said it is ready to disclose all records related to its studies in the course of any investigation. Journal Science reportedly demanded Hwang's team review its data and DNA analysis process. The University of Pittsburgh is also investigating the stem-cell research.

Meanwhile, Hwang's team has made significant progress in its project to treat some incurable diseases in primates during recent experiments, according to an official of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The team successfully injected embryonic stem cells into monkeys suffering from spinal cord injuries and Parkinson's disease and will soon conduct similar clinical testing on humans, the official quoted Ahn Curie, a close associate of Hwang's as saying. The official also said Hwang's team plans to open its research data through the World Stem Cell Hub, launched in Seoul to promote stem cell technology in October. It will provide up to 100 embryonic cells to other researchers to forge international cooperation to advance the bioscience, he said. The statement by Hwang's team came after a local news outlet reported that Hwang himself instructed one of his junior researchers to fabricate stem-cell images.

Kim Seon-jong, Hwang's team member, said Hwang had asked him to make up 11 different stem-cell images out of two cells for publication in Science, according to a transcript of his interview in October with the MBC television network. "I felt burdened because I was not supposed to do that. But I had no choice but to follow (Hwang's) instruction." Kim, a co-author of Hwang's paper, told a producer of "PD Notebook," an investigative news program. The transcript was disclosed by an internet news outlet "Pressian."

"PD Notebook" previously said that it heard crucial statements from Kim about the authenticity of Hwang's work and planned to air a report disputing his work. But the program was suspended after its producers were found to have used coercion and other unethical methods when they interviewed Kim and other members of Hwang's team. Saying he was threatened by Han, Kim later denied the PD Notebook's accusation that he made "crucial statements." The nationally-feted scientist has been under pressure since last month after Schatten severed collaboration with him, citing ethical breaches in the procurement of human eggs in Hwang's research. Hwang admitted on Nov. 24 that he used ova donated by two researchers, an act frowned on by the international scientific community because of the possibility of coercion being used to gain the ova. Hwang went into seclusion since offering to step down from all official positions after apologizing for the ethical irregularities.

(hjjin@heraldm.com)
By Jin Hyun-joo

MBC's Biggest Error

The biggest error MBC committed themselves is that they failed to focus on the ethics issue concerning stem cell research. They instead tight-rope walked to draw the public attention to their “likely” scenario of Dr. Hwang having fabricated his research on cloning the embryonic stem cells. With the publicity stunt, however, all MBC has since earned is a storm of backlash from the “reasonably” frustrated public, tarnishing their already fragile reputation as a broadcasting company. Now that it’s a matter of time to unveil whether Dr. Hwang has actually played the hero in their “stem cell fraud” scenario, MBC gets ever busy putting all their efforts and reachable network for the showdown.

Several concerned parties, including Seoul National University, have started the probe into Dr. Hwang’s papers published in the journal Science. Should it turn out the way MBC has directed all these disputes intended to be, MBC will find no way of dodging the questions asked of their own ethical problems. Along the way, however, the Science magazine and some respected American scientists will hurt a little, too.

World Cup in German 2006

Head coaches of World Cup group G with, left to right, Switzerland’s head coach Koebi Kuhn, Togo’s Nigerian head coach Stephen Keshi, France’s Raymond Domenech and Korea’s Dutch head coach Dick Advocaat are seen on a giant screen, in Leipzig, Germany, Friday.

Korean National Assmebly

[Image story]
Howling, brawling lawmakers turned the National Assembly hall into a war zone yesterday to mark the end of this year's 100-day regular session. The circus, unusual even by the Assembly's usual decorum-challenged standards, was triggered by a bill to revise the law on private schools, legislation championed by the governing Uri Party and bitterly opposed by the opposition Grand Nationals.When a semblance of order returned and the dust had settled, the bill had been approved. But the Grand Nationals, after hours of pushing and shoving and physical struggles in which at least one lawmaker was reportedly injured, walked out of the Assembly and vowed to boycott it indefinitely.

[Bloggers View]
There's lots more, using words like "skirmish," "battlefield" and "Uri Party troops." The full report from the front can be read here.
Posted by Nomad in Korean Stuff Permalink

Comments

Some politicians had their aides prevent members of other parties from entering the National Assembly. It's totally despicable behavior. People with such blatant contempt for the democratic process of passing new laws do not deserve to be members of an elected government.
Posted by: Bubba

It looks bad, but this is a form of Phillibuster. As long as the opposing party does not let the platform to be taken, the session cannot happen and the law cannot pass.
Nobody throws punches. They just push and shove. There must be a school to teach these guys (gals too) how to do this "motions" without really hurting anyone.
It is Korean thing. Enjoy it. It is sort of fun to watch these grownup people behaving so childish. I think Kimchi has something to do with this Korean Dynamism.
Posted by: baduk

Korea...great fun for children of all ages!
Posted by: Mark

Baduk hit it right on the head. Fun to watch isn't it?
Posted by: Gar

How come our elected officials in the U.S. aren't this entertaining? Teddy can bring the kegs.
Posted by: Jenifer D.

True. It can be entertaining at times (it's like Korea's version of the WWE). Unfortunately, they are putting to waste all of the money and effort that was put into improving Korea's image abroad. What do you think will get more airtime? The fact that the "Sea of Japan" should be renamed? Or Korean National Assembly members kneeing eachother in the groin? Besides, it's one thing to make an ass of yourself while in session, and it's another to physically prevent members to enter the National Assembly.
Posted by: Bubba

True. It can be entertaining at times (it's like Korea's version of the WWE). Unfortunately, they are putting to waste all of the money and effort that was put into improving Korea's image abroad. What do you think will get more airtime? The fact that the "Sea of Japan" should be renamed? Or Korean National Assembly members kneeing eachother in the groin? Besides, it's one thing to make an ass of yourself while in session, and it's another to physically prevent members from entering the National Assembly.
Posted by: Bubba

Sorry, double post. Found a mistake at the last moment. Hit stop. Didn't realize it had already gone through.
Posted by: Bubba

Emergency Arbitration

Korean Air pilots forced to work

Minister uses emergency arbitration power to end 4-day strike
by Park Jung-youn, Korea Herald

The government yesterday exercised its emergency arbitration right to end a four-day strike by Korean Air's unionized pilots, forcing them back to work and banning them from taking any form of collective action for the next 30 days. The decision came after the airline's management and pilots failed to narrow their differences at Saturday's last minute talk that was extended into early yesterday morning.

Labor Minister Kim Dae-hwan announces at a news conference yesterday the government`s decision to intervene in the Korean Air labor dispute. [The Korea Herald] Labor Minister Kim Dae-hwan announced the ministry decision to arbitrate the Korean Air labor dispute, citing its detrimental blow to the nation's economy and massive air transportation holdups that have stranded passengers. "Korean Air pilots' strike has cost the nation nearly 189.4 billion won so far, and we did not see the likelihood of management and labor ever reaching an agreement in the near future," he said.

"The Labor Ministry regrets that the dispute could not be resolved voluntarily by the two sides," he added, stressing that should the pilots continue their walkout despite the arbitration, they will be severely reprimanded in accordance with the law. Violation of emergency arbitration could result in two years jail term and a maximum fine of 20 million won. The unionized pilots officially called off the walkout almost immediately following the Labor Ministry's announcement, albeit grudgingly, calling the ministry's decision "a repression of workers' rights to organize." The group claimed that "the management refused to compromise, not budging even an inch to resolve the issue," referring to the management's refusal to accept the union's lowered demands. Calling for a 6.5 percent wage raise and 50 percent bonus increase, nearly 80 percent of the air carrier's 1,350 unionized pilots staged a walkout from Wednesday at midnight. The pilots later softened a bit, offering to drop the previous demand for salary increase to 4.5 percent and further down to 3.5 percent. The management stood firm with its own bottom line - 2.5 percent wage increase and 50 percent bonus raise. The walkout resulted in canceling as many as 66 percent of the scheduled flights yesterday, with nearly 89 percent of the international cargo flights called off.

Local businesses have urged the government to intervene promptly, given that the nation's largest air carrier is responsible for 48.1 percent of the international air cargo services. Korea's key technology exports like memory chips and handset parts in particular rely heavily on air freight deliveries, with nearly 100 percent and 70 percent, respectively, of each delivered by air, according to a government official. Korean Air's flight service is expected to normalize by Wednesday.

"We would like to normalize operations right away to minimize the inconvenience for passengers and businesses; however there are the safety concerns that should be taken seriously," said a Korean Air official. The pilots are required to take at least 12 hours of full rest before operating a jet. However with the four-day walkout leaving the majority of the pilots physically drained, they would need longer hours of rest, he added. The government has invoked emergency arbitration rights four times so far, including the one in August to put an end to the 25-day walkout by Asiana Airlines pilots.

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