Cloning expert Hwang Woo-suk’s faking of his stem cell paper resulted from the combination of his conviction that his theories were correct and his impatience to take the time to prove them.

That's the opinion of science commentators who were quoted in a Los Angeles Times report Friday, which pointed out that, even though Hwang was convinced he could create stem cells, his impatience had invited tragedy onto the science community.

The paper said problems with this sort of attitude were prevalent among scientists, mentioning the case of German physicist Jan Hendrik Schon in the late 1990s.

After his breakthroughs in semiconductor physics raised expectations for an eventual Nobel Prize, Schon's research findings turned out to be fabricated. However, he proved his the efficacy of his work a few years later through continuous experiments.

The daily concluded that too many scientists were falling into the trap of self-conviction and impatience due to promises of huge research funding, prestige, and career and income benefits.