Perhaps the lesson in the case of the fabricated stem-cell research by a South Korean scientist is the need for healthy skepticism by editors of scientific publications and peer-review committees that check the research studies ahead of time.
The scientific community was skeptical all along, and that uncertainty helped expose the deception before too much damage was done. But lawmakers in this country and elsewhere used the work of South Korea’s Hwang Woo-Suk to make their case for more research dollars. In Congress, some lawmakers used the South Korean’s supposed breakthrough to argue national pride and the importance of U.S. scientists’ having adequate funding in a key medical research field.
Hwang claimed in a research paper published last May in the journal Science to have cloned human embryos and to have produced from them stem cells tailored to individual patients. The work was viewed as a landmark discovery that could lead to treatments for people with spinal cord injuries and with diseases difficult to treat such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes. Sadly, it was false hope. An expert panel investigating the scientist’s work concluded that the 11 stem-cell lines documented in the article were fabricated and not created out of DNA from sick and injured patients, as Hwang claimed.
The worst aspect of any fabrication is that it contaminates the scientific well that could lead to critical breakthroughs in medicine and other fields. With regard to stem-cell research, in particular, Hwang’s blatant fraud created more controversy in an area already overflowing with skeptics. It delayed critical research and could impact future funding. One Massachusetts company said its venture capital was cut off when the South Korean discovery was announced.
Scientific fraud isn’t new. But some observers say this was one of the worst they’ve seen. And in the South Korean case, the worst of it is perhaps the realization that we are not as close to treating certain diseases as we dared hope. This deception should be a lesson to other scientists anxious to be recognized and to beat others to the prize.
