Seems like we're seeing quite a bit of fraud concerning embryonic (though apparently not adult) stem cell research.

Past

During the 2004 election, particularly from the 2004 Democratic National Convention, we repeatedly were told, by both scientists and celebrities (like Ron Reagan), that embryonic stem cells could soon deliver a cure for Alzheimers'. Not only wasn't it true, but those promulgating the myth knew what they were doing, giving Alzheimer victims false hope in order to convert them to advocates for their agenda -- one Ronald Reagan himself would have undoubtedly opposed:

Scientists who have been telling Nancy Reagan that embryonic stem cell research could cure Alzheimer's now admit that it isn't true....

"PEOPLE NEED A FAIRY TALE," Ronald D.G. McKay, a stem cell researcher at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, told Washington Post reporter Rick Weiss, explaining why scientists have allowed society to believe wrongly that stem cells are likely to effectively treat Alzheimer's disease. "Maybe that's unfair, but they need a story line that's relatively simple to understand." ....

Here's the story: Researchers have apparently known for some time that embryonic stem cells will not be an effective treatment for Alzheimer's, because as two researchers told a Senate subcommittee in May, it is a "whole brain disease," rather than a cellular disorder (such as Parkinson's). This has generally been kept out of the news. But now, Washington Post correspondent Rick Weiss, has blown the lid off of the scam, reporting that ... "stem cell experts confess ... that of all the diseases that may be someday cured by embryonic stem cell treatments, Alzheimer's is among the least likely to benefit."

This was, sadly, not the first time many of us had been misled about embryonic stem cell research. A few years ago, I kept hearing Parkinson's patients had been "cured" by a fetal tissue implant. The truth was that the experiment's results were horrifying and harmful:

Research that tried to treat Parkinson's disease by implanting cells from aborted fetuses into patients' brains didn't show any benefit to the patients, according to a new study. In fact, the treatment demonstrated serious side effects in 15 percent of the 40 patients, including uncontrollable writhing and jerking, the study published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine showed.

Instead, tangible, exciting progress against Parkinson's has come from adult stem cell research like this:

A man who developed Parkinson's disease has been seemingly cured after a transplant of his own brain stem cells.... More than two years after the experimental treatment, the man has no symptoms of Parkinson's. Scientists are puzzled that while the man's dopamine production, as measured by PET scans, has returned to the levels seen prior to the transplant, his Parkinson's symptoms have not returned.

Didn't see that one trumpeted in the mainstream press, did you? That suggests to me that the media would rather not generate enthusiasm and backing for the "wrong" cure for Parkinson's.

Present

Recently, we've also been told of this fraud from South Korea:

Investigators say scientist Hwang Woo Suk has no evidence to back claims that he cloned human embryos and extracted matching stem cells.... "So far we could not find any stem cells regarding Dr. Hwang's 2005 paper that genetically match the DNA of patients," said Roe Jung Hye, the university's dean of research affairs, in a statement. "According to our judgment, Dr. Hwang's team doesn't have scientific data to prove that it has produced such stem cells." The [New York Times] said Hwang apologized last week for falsifications in his paper and resigned from the university.

As well as this politically-motivated deception, from scientists at Harvard University:

August headlines touted the latest breakthrough in stem cell research – Harvard researchers announced they had discovered a way to fuse adult skin cells with embryonic stem cells, effectively bypassing the ethical concerns surrounding stem cell research by not having to produce or destroy human embryos.

In reality, the hype was not only premature — since the new cells were still contaminated with embryonic genetic material — it appears to have been an exercise in political science as the Senate neared consideration of a bill that would circumvent President Bush’s funding limitations for embryonic stem cell research.

Together, these reports give the impression that many scientific embryonic stem cell advocates and beneficiaries are both highly partisan and deeply ethically challenged. I suppose that's to be expected once you convince yourself that there are no ethical dilemmas with growing and harvesting human fetuses.