SEOUL, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Investigators say scientist Hwang Woo Suk has no evidence to back claims that he cloned human embryos and extracted matching stem cells.
The New York Times said the announcement by the panel from Seoul National University, where Hwang did his research, suggests he fabricated the article published in the journal Science in June.
"So far we could not find any stem cells regarding Dr. Hwang's 2005 paper that genetically match the DNA of patients," said Roe Jung Hye, the university's dean of research affairs, in a statement. "According to our judgment, Dr. Hwang's team doesn't have scientific data to prove that it has produced such stem cells."
The newspaper said Hwang apologized last week for falsifications in his paper and resigned from the university.
In a paper published in Science in February 2004, Hwang claimed to be the first to clone a human embryo by transferring an adult cell's nucleus into an egg, and extracting a stem cell line from it.
The panel is still investigating the 2004 study and the authenticity of an Afghan hound named Snuppy, which Hwang unveiled in August as the world's first cloned dog, The Times said.
