Spyros Andreopoulos Tuesday, January 3, 2006
During my career as a science writer, I grew accustomed to believing that if something is published in a prestigious scientific journal such as Science or Nature, then it must be true.
South Korean scientist Dr. Hwang Woo Suk has been regarded as one of the most brilliant researchers in his field. So why would he concoct an elaborate hoax in the pages of Science, as his critics claim, that he had cloned a dog, and created human embryonic stem cells matched to patients who might benefit from them?
Perhaps the answer is nothing more than ego. But another explanation could be the culture of science itself, which puts a premium on originality
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<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/03/EDG2IGCOIT1.DTL>
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Difficulties within the "culture of science" aside, one of the often overlooked components of this specific story was the pressure Dr. Hwang and his team faced to produce noteworthy results - pressure from government and industry as well as a public (in the case of S. Korea) keenly interested in scientific and technological achievements that might accrue national glory.
I tracked this scandal's fallout on S. Korean websites and found opinion sharply divided between those who felt a very personal sense of humiliation and those who insisted it was almost traitorous to speak ill of Dr. Hwang.
Both camps exhibited a deep attachment to the matter rarely seen in places like the U.S. where science is either stared at in misunderstanding wonder, angrily dismissed as anti-faith or seen only as the source of environmental woes and our 'divorcement from nature'.
Many S. Koreans long for their nation to be seen not only as an astoundingly successful example of the E. Asian "tiger" development strategy but also as the source of new and groundbreaking ideas (note, for example, Samsung and LG's efforts to position themselves as advanced engineering firms a la Nokia and not just manufacturers of established tech).
The weight of national anticipation no doubt had an impact on Dr. Hwang et. al.
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