Feb. 1999: Hwang first draws media attention by cloning a milk-cow.
April 1999: Hwang claims to have cloned a milk cow-this time a Korean bessie. He never published any papers, however, proving these feats.
March 2004: The first of two Science papers is published, claiming to have created human embryonic stem cells by inserting the nucleus of a somatic cell into an egg that has been stripped of its nucleus.
May 2005: Hwang publishes a second second Science paper, claiming to have created 11 stem cell lines from 185 donor eggs. Acclaimed as a breakthrough in biotechnology.
Aug. 2005: Hwang clones Snuppy, an Afghan hound (see photo above).
Nov. 2005: The plot begins to unravel. Early in the month one of Hwang’s collaborators announced he had ceased collaborating with him. He cited concerns over the egg (oocyte) donations that fueled Hwang’s work.
Nov. 21, 2005: One of Hwang’s Korean collaborators holds a press conference, admitting women were paid US$1,400 each to donate eggs later used in their research.
Nov. 24, 2005: Hwang resigns from all his university posts.
Jan. 2006: On Jan. 10, Seoul National University ruled that both of Hwang’s papers had been faked. The next day, Science retracted both.
