Government says Harvard researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought 'biological materials'

Attorneys argued over whether a Harvard University researcher accused of smuggling frog embryos brought “biological materials” into the U.S. Kseniia Petrova, a Russian-born scientist conducting cancer research for Harvard Medical School, appeared in Massachusetts federal court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing, where government and defense attorneys argued over whether she brought “biological materials” into the U.S. She was returning from a vacation from France in February when she was questioned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Boston Logan International Airport. Petrova had stopped at a lab specializing in splicing superfine sections of frog embryos and obtained a package of samples for research.