Notwithstanding the fact that many research misconduct has been reported so far, I think that the one that I am going to blog on is one of the major one because it gave hope to so many paralyzed people around the world. Although so many paralyzed people are totally capable of regular routines and live their lives as regular people, they will continue to hold out hope that they will be healed. Hwang Woo-Suk played with their heart.
Hwang Woo-Suk, a south Korean scientist who was a professor of biotechnology and theriogenology at Seoul National University, had been considered one of the pioneer experts in the field. In 2004 and 2005, he published two articles in Science journal and claimed to create human embryonic stem cells by cloning. The results of this research spread hope to millions who were paralyzed or know someone who was paralyzed. It was not far after when it came out of shadow that his results were are all based on falsified data! He was charged with embezzlement and bioethics law violations, released from his position at University, and sentenced to a two year suspended prison sentence.
1. http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/rio/research_misconduct_examples.htm#woo
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hwang_Woo-Suk