연구를 직업으로 가진자로서 그리고 한국인의 우수성에 자부심을 가지고 있던 사람으로서 이런 기사를 읽고 제가 한국 사람이라는게 부끄럽다는 말을 하지 않을수가 없습니다. 벌써 세계에서 이번일로 대서특필하고 있는데 이보다 더 한국인의 얼굴에 먹칠을 했던 적이 있을까요? 황교수만을 욕하기 보다는 저희 자신부터 돌아봐야겠다는 생각입니다.

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황우석 교수팀의 줄기세포 연구를 재검증해 온 서울대 조사위원회(위원장 정명희)가 23일 황 교수의 2005년 사이언스 논문에 대해 ‘조작’ 결론을 내렸다.
조사위 정명희 위원장은 이날 오전 11시 서울대 본관 4층 회의실에서 기자회견을 갖고 “2005년 사이언스 논문은 2개의 세포주에서 얻어진 결과를 불려서 만들어 낸 고의적인 조작으로 볼 수밖에 없다”고 말했다.

또 “이 2개의 세포주가 과연 체세포 복제 줄기세포인지는 조사위가 의뢰한 DNA 분석결과가 나오면 확인될 수 있다”고 덧붙였다.

조사위는 “황 교수 팀이 체세포 복제를 통해 11개의 환자맞춤형 줄기세포를 만들었다고 보고했으나, 사이언스에 논문이 투고된 3월에는 2번과 3번라인 2개밖에 없었다”면서 “따라서 논문에 보고된 각종 실험 데이터들은 모두 2개의 세포주를 사용해 만들었다”고 밝혔다.

2번 3번 줄기세포 외 나머지 9개의 줄기세포 중 4개는 오염사고로 1월 9일에 죽어버렸고, 나머지 3개는 논문이 제출된 시점 당시 줄기세포로서의 성질이 검증되지 않았다고 조사위는 설명했다.

또 논문에는 7개의 세포주에 테라토마가 형성된 것으로 보고됐으나, 사실은 2번과 3번 2개의 세포주에서만 테라토마 형성이 확인됐다고 말했다.

조사위는 “연구데이터의 진실성이 과학을 떠받치는 기반임을 상기할 때, 이 같은 잘못은 과학의 기반을 훼손하는 중대한 행위로 판단된다”고 밝혔다.

조사위는 앞으로 황 교수팀이 확립했다고 하는 추가적인 세포주들이 과연 환자맞춤형 체세포복제 줄기세포인지 DNA 분석을 통해 확인할 예정이라고 했다. 또한 2004년 사이언스 논문에 대해 제기된 의혹과 복제개 ‘스너피’에 대한 의혹들도 검증할 예정이라고 덧붙였다

이상 조선일보
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SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean researcher Hwang Woo-suk resigned from his university on Friday after the school said he fabricated stem-cell research that had raised hopes of new cures for hard-to-treat diseases.

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A university panel, releasing initial findings of a probe, accused Hwang of damaging the scientific community with his deception, while South Korea’s government rued the scandal surrounding the country’s star scientist and said it may pull its funding for his research.

“I sincerely apologize to the people for creating a shock and disappointment,” Hwang told reporters as he was leaving his office at Seoul National University, considered the country’s top institution of higher learning.

“With an apologetic heart … I step down as professor,” he said.

However, Hwang still maintained that he had produced the technology to create patient-matched stem cells as he claimed in a May article in the journal Science.

“I emphasize that patient-specific stem cells belong to South Korea and you are going to see this,” said Hwang, a veterinarian.

Earlier Friday, a panel of Seoul National University experts said Hwang had faked results of at least nine of 11 stem cell lines he claimed to have created in the May paper — the first confirmation of allegations that have cast a shadow over all his purported breakthroughs in cloning and stem-cell technology.

“This kind of error is a grave act that damages the foundation of science,” the panel said.

The South Korean government, which had strongly supported Hwang and designated him the country’s first “top scientist,” said Friday it was “miserable” over the reported results of the investigation and will start its own probe over ethics breaches.

Choi Seong-sik, vice minister of science and technology, said it’s impossible to recover money already spent for Hwang, a total $39.9 million for research and facilities since 1998. But his ministry, which admitted errors in its handling of Hwang’s projects, will look at ending other funding and withdraw the “top scientist” designation.

Still, the government said it would support other similar research.

The university panel said Friday it found that “the laboratory data for 11 stem cell lines that were reported in the 2005 paper were all data made using two stem cell lines in total.”

To create fake DNA results purporting to show a match, Hwang’s team split cells from one patient into two test tubes for the analysis — rather than actually match cloned cells to a patient’s original cells, the university said.

“Based on these facts, the data in the 2005 Science paper cannot be some error from a simple mistake, but can only be seen as a deliberate fabrication to make it look like 11 stem-cell lines using results from just two,” the panel said.

“There is no way but that Professor Hwang has been involved,” the university’s dean of research affairs, Roe Jung-hye told a news conference. Hwang “somewhat admits to this,” he added.

The panel said DNA tests expected to be completed within a few days would confirm whether the remaining two stem-cell lines it had found were actually successfully cloned from a patient. The earlier claims of patient-matched stem cells were seen by scientists worldwide as a key step to creating tailored therapies for hard-to-treat diseases, such as paralysis or diabetes.

In light of the revelations, the panel said it would now also investigate Hwang’s other landmark papers — which include another Science article in 2004 on the world’s first cloned human embryos, and an August 2005 paper in the journal Nature on the first-ever cloned dog — an Afghan hound named Snuppy. The journals already are reviewing all the work.

Professor Alan Trounson, a top stem-cell researcher at Australia’s Monash University, said the scandal showed scientists were rigorously checking one another’s results. But he predicted the fallout would also stain any other scientists linked to Hwang’s work, also saying that the South Korean’s claim to have cloned a dog was “very much in doubt now.”

“I think a lot of the community were very impressed with the cloning of a dog — and it was a delightful dog — but I actually don’t think it is a cloned dog now,” Trounson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

Hwang has already asked Science to withdraw the May paper, citing “fatal errors,” claiming he had created only some of the 11 stem-cell colonies at the time of publication but completed the work later.

The university panel said Friday that it found no records of two of the other stem-cell lines Hwang claims to have created. Four others died from contamination, and another three were in the nurturing stage and hadn’t yet become full stem-cell lines.

Hwang’s article this year had also been viewed as significant for his efficiency in cloning the stem-cell lines, claiming to use just 185 human eggs to create custom-made embryonic stem cells for the 11 patients.

But Roe said the investigation had “found that there have been a lot more eggs used than were reported” and were investigating the exact number.

The main opposition Grand National Party called for a parliamentary investigation of the government for failing to find errors in Hwang’s research sooner. Party spokesman Lee Ke-jin accused the president’s office of being “greatly responsible for neglecting the situation when it knew everything.”

Prosecutors said they would decide whether to investigate Hwang after the university finishes its probe. The Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office said Hwang’s fabrication is not subject to criminal charges.

Hwang had last month resigned as head of the World Stem Cell Hub — an international project founded in October that had planned to open centers in Britain and the United States — after admitting he used eggs from female workers at his lab in violation of ethics guidelines. Sung Sang-cheol, head of Seoul National University Hospital where the hub is located, said Friday the center would continue working but might be reorganized or renamed.

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Associated Press reporters Kwang-tae Kim in Seoul and Mike Corder in Sydney, Australia contributed to this report.