The South Korean scientist who became a national hero over supposedly pioneering stem cell research fabricated all his data, experts decided today.

Woo Suk Hwang said that he had cloned a human embryo and a dog, as well as claiming to have developed patient-specific stem cells which may have created potentially revolutionary treatments for conditions like Parkinson's disease.

However, Seoul National University’s investigative panel, which said last week that at least nine of the 11 patient-specific stem cell lines reported this year in the journal Science were fabricated, announced the remaining two were also fabricated.

Dr Hwang, 52, who had recently been treated in hospital for stress, immediately apologised after the furore erupted and resigned from his post as professor.

This latest news serves to act as the final blow to the reputation of the once celebrated scientist who many had believed to be the world leader in his field.

"The panel couldn’t find stem cells that match patients’ DNA regarding the 2005 paper and it believes that Hwang’s team doesn’t have scientific data to prove that (such stem cells) were made,"Jung Hye Roe, the university’s dean of research affairs, said.

Stem cells are 'master cells' that can grow into any body tissue. Creating patient-specific stem cells would be a breakthrough because they would not be rejected by patients’ individual immune systems.

Scientists hope to use the technique to cure for diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes, as well as to grow replacement tissue that could help the paralysed walk again.

Dr Hwang gained acclaim when he reported to Science that he'd created the world’s first cloned human embryo and extracted stem cells from it.

This year he and his research team also said in the journal Nature that they produced the world’s first cloned dog, an Afghan hound named Snuppy.

Those breakthroughs, also thrown into question, saw the veterinarian, dubbed "The Pride of Korea," receive the honour of being officially designated Korea's "Top Scientist".

The subject of the investigation was a paper published by Science in May in which Dr Hwang claimed to have developed patient-specific stem cells by grafting nuclei from donated eggs to skin cells from patients who needed treatment.

But last week, the investigating panel said: "Based on these facts, the data in the 2005 Science paper cannot be some error from a simple mistake, but can only be seen as a deliberate fabrication to make it look like 11 stem-cell lines using results from just two."

Mr Roe also told a news conference: "There is no way but that Professor Hwang has been involved."

Meanwhile, the South Korean Government, which previously strongly suggested it would stop supporting Hwang, reacted with caution to the latest news.

"We don’t have an official position over today’s report as Seoul National University’s investigation is still under way," said Sang Mun Nam, director of the public information division at the Science and Technology Ministry.

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