| ■ South Korean Researcher Retracts Anti-Aging Papers | 2008.03.17 |
| Two papers on anti-aging technology published in international journals have been retracted by a professor at a South Korean technical university after it was discovered that he fabricated evidence, the Associated Press reported. Officials at the state-run Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said biotechnology professor Kim Tae-kook admitted that he used forged data in a 2005 paper on anti-aging technology published in the journal Science, and in a follow-up 2006 paper published in the journal Nature Chemical Biology. Kim has been suspended from teaching and conducting research at the institute, which is still investigating whether to impose additional disciplinary measures, the AP reported. It's not clear if Kim will face criminal charges. In the 2005 paper, Kim claimed to have found a way to use magnetic nanoparticles to find target proteins in the human body, a discovery he claimed could lead to the development of anti-aging drugs. In the 2006 paper, Kim said he had used the technology to identify target proteins and had developed two chemical substances that could slow aging. In 2005, it was revealed that leading South Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk faked evidence in what had been hailed as breakthrough stem cell research. |