Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) South Korean cloning "pioneer" Hwang Woo-suk has defended today his cloned stem cell research after fresh charges of manipulation were laid at his door. He did however apologise for problems and confusion surrounding his studies.
In a press conference, the scientist confirmed that his team created the cells and has the technology to continue doing so, but admitted that some cells were "contaminated".
He said that it will take time to demonstrate that results published last May were genuine, the time necessary to restore the cells to their original form.
The controversy began when an article in a scientific journal claimed that the results Hwang presented in Science last May were totally false.
The scandal got worse when Hwang himself acknowledged thatcontrary to what had been said at the beginning of the studytwo members of his staff took ovocytes from volunteers without their consent.
The South Korean government backed the scientist, but he was forced to resign from all his official posts in November. None the less, he was back at his job last Tuesday.
Hwang has denied allegations that the cloned stem cells were "fake" as some of the South Korean researchers on his staff said claiming that the scientist himself had admitted to it.
The medical staff explained that six of cloned cells were so contaminated that it was impossible to keep them alive; it added that the remaining five cells, which were not substantially damaged, have been frozen and can be thawed in ten days.
In the Science paper, Hwang and his team had claimed they had cloned stem cells "to fit" using cells from 11 patients suffering from illnesses hitherto considered incurable such as Parkinson and diabetes.
The paper claimed that it would be therefore possible to treat these diseases by inserting cloned stem cell to generate healthy tissue.
Hwang said he was retracting the paper from Science because the photos of the 11 stem cells were flawed.
According to a source within South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's office, if the charges prove accurate, it will spell disaster not only for Hwang but also for the country's entire scientific community and for its image.