The Seoul National University (SNU) said Friday South Korean stem cell expert Hwang Woo-suk fabricated the result of his research in the paper published in May this year in journal Science, calling it "damaging to the foundation of science."

The tentative conclusion was made by a special panel of the SNU in its preliminary report on its investigation of the authenticity scandal surrounding its professor Hwang's stem cell research.

The report, announced in a press conference, said, "Hwang's team had reported it had 11 patient-tailored stem cell lines but there were only two such stem cell lines on March 15 when it submitted its paper to the journal Science."

"After analyzing the data published in Science, we concluded that the glitch could not have been made by simple mistake but by deliberate manipulation," said Roh.

Hwang insisted last week at a press conference that although some of the stem cells were contaminated in an accident, five frozen for such a contingency are in the process of being thawed so that their authenticity can be verified.

Hwang and his research team claimed they had successfully cloned 11 different stem cells tailored to individual patients in May, paving the way for future development of therapies for hard- to-cure diseases.

The panel's report further said it will conduct DNA analysis to determine whether the two stem cells were patient-tailored embryonic stem cells.

Hwang admitted last week that pictures of the stem cells published along with his paper had "irretrievable lethal error", but the 52-year-old clone expert insisted that the team does indeed possess the "core technology to produce the patient- tailored embryonic stem cells."

The interim report also labeled "the fabrication action of Hwang's team is a grave behavior damaged the foundation of science, " saying Hwang should take major responsibility for the fabrication.

How to punish Hwang will be discussed after the overall investigation over his research concludes, the report added.

Moreover, the panel decided to enlarge its investigation to Hwang's paper published in Science in 2004 on the first cloned embryonic stem cell line and the one published in Britain-based journal of Nature over first cloned dog in the world.

The decision came coincidentally with Science's announcement earlier in the day that it will launch its own review over Hwang's 2004 paper described how his team harvested human embryonic stem cells from cloned embryos first in the world.

Almost at the same time, Nature also announced it is to probe the authenticity of Hwang's paper published in August over the birth of world first cloned dog - Snuppy.

Late last week, Hwang already asked the journal Science to retract his 2005 paper on the study. Moreover, Science already deleted Hwang's stem cell research paper from its list of top 10 breakthroughs in 2005 announced on Thursday.

The South Korean renowned university formed the ad hoc panel last week and started the probing over the controversy surrounding Hwang's research from Dec. 18.

During the past days, the panel summoned Hwang and several main researchers in Hwang's team, seized data relating to the research and closed off Hwang's laboratory.

In recent two months, Hwang has been in the center of a snowballing controversy first aroused by a series of investigation program aired by local TV station MBC, which oppugned authenticity of Hwang's research accomplishment.

The controversy reached a peak when a co-author of Hwang's paper, Seoul MizMedi Hospital Administrator Roh Sung-il, openly doubted the authenticity of Hwang's research on Dec. 15, alleging Hwang fabricated partial images of the embryonic stem cells described in Hwang's paper.

Source: Xinhua