Fabricated stem cell line origin revealed

The embryonic stem cell line that South Korean researchers claimed was the result of somatic cell nuclear transfer was in fact derived via parthenogenesis, researchers have confirmed.While parthenogenesis does not result in a viable embryo in mammals, researchers say the findings provide increasing support for the idea of using it to derive human embryonic stem cells for research and therapy.A committee formed by Seoul National University (SNU) concluded last year that the 2004 cell line in question was not derived from SCNT. DNA fingerprinting suggested the line was formed via parthenogenesis, but SNU investigators later admitted to Korean media that the technique couldn't determine for sure how the line was derived. The new study, published this week in Cell Stem Cell, evaluated the cell line using genome-wide analysis and confirmed it was the result of parthenogenesis.The study "basically validates it genetically once and for all" that the line...