Disgraced Gene Scientist Puts Blame on Team

The disgraced scientist Woo-suk Hwang asked fellow South Koreans to forgive him yesterday for fraudulent claims relating to human stem cell research, but then blamed junior colleagues for the scandal.

"I take full responsibility for the papers and offer you my apology," Dr Hwang told a news conference. "I ask for your forgiveness. I feel so miserable that it's difficult even to say sorry."

But he added that members of the research team at Mizmedi hospital, Seoul, had lied to him about successfully harvesting and growing stem cells from human embryos he had cloned.

In 2004 Dr Hwang announced the cloning of the world's first human embryo, a feat trumped last year by a paper in which he wrote of creating stem cells genetically matched to patients with medical conditions. Yesterday he repeated claims that his laboratory had refined the technology, saying he could produce cells within six months.

Seoul National University, where Dr Hwang worked, this week published an investigation which ruled that though he had succeeded in cloning early-stage human embryos, and Snuppy, the Afghan hound, his papers on human stem cells had been entirely fabricated.

Yesterday Dr Hwang said: "My life will be spent undoing my wrongdoing." But referring to the other researchers, he added: "We believe they completely deceived us with their research results. Relying on the role and responsibility of Mizmedi hospital, we trusted their reports 100%."

Prosecutors were reported to be searching Dr Hwang's home and office as part of a criminal investigation into alleged misuse of state funds.