Hwang Thinks He Shouldn't Have Been Fired

According to this AP story published in the Mainichi Daily News, Hwang Woo-suk -- yes, the "discraced stem cell researcher," do I really have to write that again? -- is asking the Korean Education Ministry to overturn his dismissal last month from Seoul National University. The article goes on to describe why this seems unlikely:

Hwang -- once hailed as a stem cell pioneer and treated as a national hero -- was fired last month from his post as a professor at Seoul National University's veterinary department after admitting he faked data in key papers published in academic journals.

The scientist had claimed in two papers, published in the journal Science in 2004 and 2005, that he created the world's first cloned human embryos and extracted stem cells from them, raising hopes of finding new cures for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The journal has since retracted both articles.

Hwang publicly apologized for inflating data for the paper, but maintains he has the technology to do what he claimed. South Korea's Health Ministry withdrew his research license last month, barring him from cloning human embryos or receiving eggs for such work.