Wolf-Clone Claims Under Investigation

Maryann Mott
for National Geographic News

April 11, 2007

Just weeks after the world's first cloned wolves were announced by South Korean scientists, an investigation has been launched to verify the research.

According to a study released March 26, two gray wolf clones were created by a team from Seoul National University, led by veterinarian Byeong-chun Lee.

Disgraced stem-cell researcher Woo Suk Hwang is also listed as one of the study's authors.

Officials from the university announced yesterday that blood and cell samples from the two females, named SnuWolf and SnuWolffy, had been sent to an outside agency for analysis.

The officials said they suspected the team used erroneous data to inflate their claims.

Lee had previously collaborated with Hwang, who was found last year to have fabricated key stem cell research, including claims to have cloned the first human embryo.

In 2005 both Hwang and Lee were part of a team that created Snuppy, the first cloned domestic canine.

The dog-cloning feat was questioned after claims of Hwang's misconduct surfaced, but an independent DNA test verified that the black-and-tan Afghan hound was indeed a clone.

(See photos of Snuppy the dog clone.)

Upon release of the wolf study, Lee and his colleagues had said that Hwang was not directly involved in the research, because Hwang had resigned following the stem-cell scandal.

Mistakes Found in Wolf Study

Officials launched the current investigation after they learned of errors in the wolf-clone report.

Incorrect details were found in a table analyzing the DNA of the wolves and their surrogate mother dogs.

Also a mathematical error involving previous attempts to clone domestic dogs made the wolf team's technical progress seem more impressive.

Lee has told the media that both errors were mistakes.

The journal that published the study, Cloning and Stem Cells, promptly removed the research paper from its Web site yesterday.

Editor in chief Ian Wilmut, the embryologist who created Dolly the sheep—the first successfully cloned mammal—confirmed that the paper's authors have asked for corrections to the text.

"The journal will await the outcome of this investigation before deciding upon any action," he said in an email to National Geographic News.

"No other comments will be made until then."

When reached by telephone yesterday, Yang Kuk, head of Seoul National University's Office of Research, said he would not answer any questions until the investigation is completed in three weeks.

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