Hwang’s Former Stem Cell Research Partner Removes Name From Paper 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 13, 2005
Pittsburgh, PA (LifeNews.com) — The former partner of embattled South Korean embryonic stem cell research scientist Hwang Woo-suk has withdrawn his name from a research paper Hwang’s team published in the medical journal Science that is coming under dispute for using falsified photos.
Prof. Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh said Tuesday he is asking Science to remove his name from the paper, which it published in May.
The paper claims Hwang’s team was able to clone copies of patient-specific embryonic stem cells, but the team used photos of the same groups of cells, instead of showing the various ones they created.
Hwang’s team says the problem was simply a mistake and Hwang has said he will submit new photos and new research data to the medical journal. However, the University of Pittsburgh and Seoul National University, where Hwang works, are investigating the matter.
According to a report in the ChoSun newspaper in South Korea, Schatten emailed other co-authors of the paper and said he had received information from an unnamed source that the research results were fabricated.
After carefully reviewing pictures and the data in the article in light of the new information, Schatten says he has doubts about the accuracy of the research.
Schatten ended his partnership with Hwang two weeks ago when revelations that Hwang lied about egg donations made by two junior researchers came to light.
