Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Restaurants get off to a quick start thanks to game-changing policies
High service charges on event ticket refunds call for further regulation
Sunday
- Subscribe
Related News
S Korea seeks 4-year prison term for stem cell fraud
Source: Agencies |
August 24, 2009, Monday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
SOUTH Korean prosecutors told a Seoul court today they wanted a four year prison term for disgraced scientist Hwang Woo-suk, whose research team has been linked to major fraud in its once-celebrated stem cell studies.
Hwang, once a scientist with rock-star like status in South Korea for his research that brought the country to the forefront of stem cell studies, is facing trial on charges of fraud, misusing state funds and violating bioethics laws.
Prosecutors said Hwang brought shame to the country and harm to scientific research in South Korea.
Hwang's trial at a nondescript Seoul court has been going on for about three years, and could stretch into a fourth, legal experts said.
It has been bogged down in the technical testimony from scores of scientists about the research done by his team.
Hwang's team was thought to have made two major breakthroughs in the field by cloning stem cells and tailoring them to a specific patient, which raised hopes of generating genetically specific tissue to repair damaged organs or treat diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Stem cells are the body's master cells, giving rise to all the tissues, organs and blood. Embryonic stem cells are considered the most powerful kinds of stem cells, as they have the potential to give rise to any type of tissue.
An investigation team at Seoul National University, where Hwang once worked, said in late 2005 that Hwang's team deliberately fabricated vital data in the two papers on human embryonic stem cells.
Hwang, once a scientist with rock-star like status in South Korea for his research that brought the country to the forefront of stem cell studies, is facing trial on charges of fraud, misusing state funds and violating bioethics laws.
Prosecutors said Hwang brought shame to the country and harm to scientific research in South Korea.
Hwang's trial at a nondescript Seoul court has been going on for about three years, and could stretch into a fourth, legal experts said.
It has been bogged down in the technical testimony from scores of scientists about the research done by his team.
Hwang's team was thought to have made two major breakthroughs in the field by cloning stem cells and tailoring them to a specific patient, which raised hopes of generating genetically specific tissue to repair damaged organs or treat diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Stem cells are the body's master cells, giving rise to all the tissues, organs and blood. Embryonic stem cells are considered the most powerful kinds of stem cells, as they have the potential to give rise to any type of tissue.
An investigation team at Seoul National University, where Hwang once worked, said in late 2005 that Hwang's team deliberately fabricated vital data in the two papers on human embryonic stem cells.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
