Stem Cell Researcher Guilty of Fraud
Dr. Haruko Obokata, the Japanese RIKEN Institute researcher who had made waves in the scientific community after publishing a study that could revolutionize stem cell research, has been found "guilty of misconduct" by Nature and RIKEN Center investigators.
In what may seem like a cruel April Fools Day joke to some stem-cell enthusiasts, the RIKEN Institute released the results of an investigation that had been looking into the validity of six items of concern between two research works which had been published by Nature earlier this year.
On Tuesday, the RIKEN investigative committee revealed that they had concluded that lead author Dr. Haruko Obokata had transgressed against the scientific community in two instances of research misconduct. According to the RIKEN preliminary report, Obokata had fabricated pictures and other aspects of her research in an intentionally misleading fashion.
Shinsuke Inshii, head of the RIKEN committee, told reporters Tuesday morning that "actions like this completely destroy data credibility"
The two publications now called into question are a study and guidelines that detail what had been hailed as a "revolutionary" stem-cell formation process.
The process, called stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) involves bathing mature cells in a semi-acidic solution and then culturing them in a nutrient gel that is used to help embryonic stem cells multiply. According to Obokata's research team, this results in lab-grown stem cells that work just like the coveted but controversial embryonic stem cell.
Soon after publication, the research came under fire from skeptics in the scientific community who cited differences between Obokata's approach and the work of Dr. Charles Vicanti, an anesthesiologist who originally stumbled upon the STAP process.
Six suspicious factors in the research papers were also brought to light, prompting the RIKEN institute to investigate the validity of Obokata's work. At this time, Teruhiko Wakayama, a co-author of the study, called for a retraction of the study so that it could be investigated privately and edited appropriately.
Soon after, RIKEN investigators reported that the factors in question appeared to be unintentional errors that did not influence the validity of data. Two of the factors, however, were later reported as apparent scientific misconduct with the intention to mislead.
The main transgression of Obokata's work, according to RIKEN, is the intentional manipulation of images included in the study, and the apparent mishandling of data from multiple experiments.
According to RIKEN, immediate action punishing Obokata will be taken. RIKEN is now reviewing its own internal regulation guidelines, hoping to improve them to ensure such misconduct never happens again.
In a statement, Dr Obokata said she would soon file a complaint with Riken, challenging the panel's findings.
Of course, while these revelations call into question the validity of Obokata's study, the STAP process itself is not necessarily an elaborate scientific hoax.
In its April 1 release, RIKEN announced that it will be launching new STSP experiments to investigate the existence of STAP cells, headed by Dr. Shinichi Aizwa, special advisor to RIKEN. The results will be shared with third party scientific organizations in the interest of ultimate transparency.
The offical report of the RIKEN investigation was published on April 1. An English version is slated to be released at a later date.
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