What did hwang woo-suk do
The True Story Behind Netflix's 'King of Clones' Is Bizarrely Shocking
Ethics often play catch-up with science.
Netflix's latest documentary film focuses on the rise and fall of Dr. Hwang Woo-suk, who went on to become a national hero for Korea after rising from obscurity before he became a disgrace to the scientific community. The documentary captures a story of catch-up, which teases the fault lines between scientific leaps and ethical transgressions.
Through the story of Hwang Woo-suk, a pioneer in the field of cloning, Aditya Thayi's King of Clonesreinvigorates the perpetual debate between ethicists and scientists as technological advancements often place what’s possible against what’s ethical. But as much as King of Clones is about the debate between ethics and unchecked advancement, it is also about Hwang's fall from grace after a scandal that rippled through the scientific community across the world.
Hwang woo suk fraud: Hwang Woo-Suk (born December 15, , Buyeo, South Korea) is a South Korean scientist whose revolutionary claims of having cloned human embryos from which he extracted stem cells were discredited as fabrications. In , Hwang debuted the first cloned dog, Snuppy, an Afghan hound.
The true story behind King of Clones and Hwang Woo-suk's scientific misbehavior is one that is as bizarre as it is shocking.
Before diving deep into Hwang's distinguished background, the documentary film takes off by focusing on his present endeavors at the Biotech Research Centre in the United Arab Emirates, where he extends his genius to some big-shot clients to clone camels for the cherished camel races the country is known for.
Within the early moments, it becomes clear that Hwang is not an ordinary scientist. However, as the documentary progresses, the real extent of the scientist's past fame and influence is established in a more precise fashion and so are the extent of his violations. By the end of the documentary film, the reasons behind the reverence that Hwang once garnered as well as the criticism that followed are laid out in thrilling fashion.
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Who is the 'King of Clones,' Hwang Woo-suk?
Born in , Hwang Woo-suk once used to be a lecturer at the Seoul National University. By his own claim, he used to be the best at the university.
Hwang woo suk biography channel 6
South Korea's Hwang Woo-suk was feted as a national hero when, in , his research team said it had successfully cloned a human embryo and produced stem cells from it, a technique that could one day provide cures for a range of diseases. But allegations he used unacceptable practices to acquire eggs from human donors, then faked two landmark pieces of research into cloning human stem cells, left his reputation in tatters. He told the BBC News website in an interview that his childhood was very difficult - his family was poor, and his father died when he was five years old. But he said he had always had a dream to be a scientist. He trained as a vet at Seoul National University before completing an MSc and then a PhD in theriogenology - the science and practice of animal reproduction.His first tryst with fame came in the s when he cloned a dairy cow named Yeongrong-i — a first for Korea. Along with his scientific achievement, he also brought a promise for the economic advancement of the country, as it was expensive to import cows back then. The recognition that followed even attracted a meeting with then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.
Hwang's next project witnessed him trying to clone a Korean tiger with the apparent intention of building the broken bond between the two countries in the Korean peninsula. Unfortunately, the endeavor failed and the lion being used as the surrogate mother died.
Hwang woo suk biography channel Hwang Woo-suk is a South Korean veterinarian and researcher. He was a professor of theriogenology and biotechnology at Seoul National University who became infamous for fabricating a series of experiments, which appeared in high-profile journals, in the field of stem cell research. Until November , he was considered one of the pioneering experts in the field, best known for two articles published in the journal Science in and where he reported to have succeeded in creating human embryonic stem cells by cloning. On May 12, , Hwang was charged with embezzlement and bioethics law violations after it emerged much of his stem cell research had been faked. The Korea Times reported on June 10, , that Seoul National University fired him, and the South Korean government canceled his financial support and barred him from engaging in stem cell research While being charged with fraud and embezzlement, he has kept a relatively low profile at the Sooam Bioengineering Research Institute in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, where he currently leads research efforts on creating cloned pig embryos and using them to make embryonic stem-cell lines.For Hwang, this was a cost he must pay in the course of his scientific investigation.
Despite the wide success that Hwang had achieved through his efforts in the field of cloning, there was a concerning trend in his work — the lack of published research backing his claims. Hwang sent shock waves throughout the scientific community when he decided to publish a paper in a scientific journal, Science, detailing the process of creating human embryos by cloning.
The paper was later backed by another paper in claiming that Dr. Hwang and his team had established 11 embryonic stem-cell lines. By the time the second paper was published in , questions about the ethical nature of Hwang's research had already started rising.
As early as May , a report published on Hwang's research in Nature by David Cyranoski, who appears in the documentary film, claimed that junior female members of Hwang's team volunteered for the eggs. While Hwang claimed that the women who volunteered for the research did it for the cause, this revelation put under doubt the validity of the consent provided by the women.
Although the documentary skips a few of his other claimed accomplishments, Hwang cloned a few other animals in the following years before his crowning achievement came in in the form of Snuppy — a cloned Afghan Hound.
At this point in time, much of the research in the field of cloning revolved around the work done by Hwang. Millions of dollars were being given to Hwang for his research through grants by the government. In the same year, he was also selected as the first Supreme Scientist of Korea. As established by the documentary, a number of factors contributed to Hwang's unquestionable dominance as a national figure, including the sense of pride he instilled in the people, as well as the yearning to establish dominance in the field of science and technology.
How Did Hwang Woo-suk Fall From Being a National Hero?
The first pushback for Hwang came when his long-time collaborator Dr. Gerald Schatten of the University of Pittsburgh decided to end his association with the famed Korean scientist in November as a result of the questionable acquisition of eggs. Things became worse for Hwang when one of his co-authors on the paper, Sun Il Roh, gave a press conference claiming that the 20 eggs used for the research were very next day, a Korean investigative journalism show, PD Su-cheop, aired a program providing further convincing evidence of the malpractices adopted during Hwang's research.
The producers of the show were apparently provided information by a whistleblower from Hwang's team. As evidenced by the documentary, the airing of the program was followed by widespread protest from the followers of Hwang who refused to comply with the blatant tarnishing of their national hero's image and achievements.
The follow-up to this program was never released as the producers received massive backlash for using dubious tactics to gather evidence against Hwang by threatening his team member.
A few days after the airing of the program by PD Su-cheop, Hwang accepted the allegations regarding accepting eggs from paid donors and junior members of his team.
He also resigned from his position in the Seoul-based World Stem Cell Hub although he continued to receive government funding and support from women who signed up to donate eggs for Hwang's research as very few found a problem in the act of buying eggs for research. Later, it was also revealed by the editors of the journal Science that Hwang approached them to point out duplications in the images published as part of the paper.
In December, Seoul National University ordered a re-examination of Hwang's research to validate the data, and it was found that significant chunks of data in the paper were fabricated. The committee investigating the research said that the data shared in the paper came from only two stem lines as opposed to the 11 claimed by Hwang.
Hwang mi hee He was a professor of theriogenology and biotechnology at Seoul National University until he was dismissed on March 20, He was considered a pioneering expert in stem cell research and even called the "Pride of Korea". Hwang was best known for two articles published in the journal Science in and , where he reported he had succeeded in creating human embryonic stem cells by cloning. However, soon after the first paper was released, an article in the journal Nature accused Hwang of having committed ethical violations by using eggs from his graduate students and from the black market. On May 12, , Hwang was charged with embezzlement and bioethics law violations after it emerged much of his stem cell research had been faked.Finally, the committee also found out that even the two stem cells did not come from patient-specific clones, hammering the final nail in the coffin. It became evident that Hwang's claim of human cloning was found on fabricated data.
On January 12, , Hwang gave a public apology accepting the mistakes, although he continued to maintain that he had the necessary technology at his disposal to create the human clones.
As a consequence of his actions, Hwang was charged with fraud, embezzlement, and bioethics law violation. He was stripped of his license to conduct embryonic stem-cell research. In April , the two women who donated eggs for human embryo cloning filed a lawsuit seeking $32 million won in compensation. Eventually, Hwang was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence, which was later reduced by six months.
Where is Hwang Woo-suk Now?
Following his fall from the heights of scientific recognition, Hwang Woo-suk is still very much active in the field of cloning as he continues to work toward his eventual goal. Near the end, the Netflix documentary depicts him entering a dangerous cave, which could collapse at any moment, to retrieve mammoth samples.
At this moment, Hwang sees himself as a gladiator finally re-entering the arena to find his lost glory.
Hwang woo suk biography channel 7 Hwang Woo-Suk, who was once considered the pioneer of stem cell research and cloning in South Korea. However, even though Dr. Unfortunately, a whole fiasco followed the article, and Dr. Hwang was forced to see his reputation dragged through the mud. Hwang Woo-Suk is a South Korean veterinarian and scientist who initially stepped into the spotlight in February when he claimed to clone an entire dairy cow successfully.It is evident that Hwang has not dropped his dream of reaching the pinnacle of cloning. Presently, he is reported to be working at Sooam Bioengineering Research Institute, leading efforts to create cloned pig embryos.
While King of Clones captures Hwang Woo-suk's unbelievable journey to scientific prominence, it also tries to focus on the hopes and aspirations that Hwang's research once potentially gave birth to.
Through Pastor Kim, a father who was promised a normal life for his paralyzed son by Hwang, the documentary film shows why Hwang enjoyed the status that he once did. Even though Pastor Kim lost his son as Hwang's promises never materialized, he continues to remain hopeful that Hwang's efforts will one day help many others like his son.
In King of Clones, the hopeful father presents a reflection of what all Hwang once promised and continues to aspire to achieve. While the truth behind Hwang Woo-suk's rise and downfall is shocking, it is a testimony to the power of human hope which continues to bank on scientific advancement even in exchange for ethical compromises.