THE disgraced 鈥渒ing of cloning鈥� is to return. Woo Suk Hwang will resume research at a privately funded lab in Seoul as early as next month.
On 28 June, his lawyer Geon Haeng Lee told reporters that Hwang will be working on animal rather than human clones, and will be joined by up to 30 former associates. The news met with a mixed reaction, as Hwang has been accused of research fraud and buying women鈥檚 eggs in breach of bioethics rules.
鈥淚f the considered view is he lied about his work, he does not deserve another chance鈥�
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鈥淚f the considered view is that he coerced women into donating oocytes and then lied about his work, then he does not deserve another chance,鈥� says cloning specialist Ian Wilmut of the University of Edinburgh, UK. Other scientists say that while it will be difficult to trust Hwang鈥檚 new research, he deserves a chance of rehabilitation.
Six days after announcing his return, Hwang told a Seoul court that he had ordered subordinates to falsify data on cloned embryonic stem cells, but stressed that he believed his co-researchers shared the blame for the fraud.
