No stem-cell misconduct by Pa. researcher

A University of Pittsburgh panel has ruled that a biologist committed no scientific misconduct involving fraudulent South Korean cloning research.

A statement by the six-member investigatory panel released Thursday said, "Dr. (Gerald) Schatten did not commit scientific misconduct and was not involved in any falsification of data, however, they did identify "shortcomings in Schatten's fulfillment of the responsibilities as co-author for one article," the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Friday.

Schatten, who heads the Pittsburgh Development Center at the Pittsburgh-affiliated Magee-Womens Research Institute, served as senior author on a paper published last June in which South Korean cloning researcher Hwang Woo-Suk claimed to have made patient-matched embryonic stem cells from cloned human embryos.

Schatten severed ties with Hwang last November after charging him with unethical practices in human egg procurement.

Last month, two of Hawang's researcher papers were retracted after a panel from Seoul National University concluded the landmark studies had been fabricated.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International