|
 Two papers published in the journal Nature in
January detailed a simple way to reprogram mature animal cells back
into an embryonic-like state that allows them to generate many types
of tissue, offering hope for a simpler way to replace damaged cells
or grow new organs in humans.
But other scientists have been unable to replicate the research's
results since then and there have been indications of problems with
its data and images.
"The problem here is one immature researcher collected a huge amount
of research data, and her handling of data was extremely sloppy and
irresponsible," president of Japanese research institute RIKEN Ryoji
Noyori told a news conference.
"I would like to offer my apology for the Nature articles, having
brought into question the credibility of the science community,"
said Noyori, bowing deeply.
Noyori, who won a Nobel prize for chemistry in 2001, was referring
to Haruko Obokata, 30, a lead author of the papers who became an
instant celebrity in Japan after they were published.
A written statement from Obokata and two other RIKEN researchers
made available at the news conference said they are discussing the
possible withdrawal of the papers with other co-authors.
Another scientist on the team, Teruhiko Wakayama of the University
of Yamanashi, has already called for the papers to be withdrawn.
"It is no longer clear what's right," Wakayama told public
broadcaster NHK on Monday.
The news conference was called to release the interim findings of
investigation on the controversy by a panel of experts from within
and outside RIKEN.
The panel found, among other things, that some images in one of the
papers published in Nature were taken from Obokata's doctoral
dissertation, which was on different experiments, and that another
image was artificially modified.
[to top of second column] |
"Regular researchers would never do something like this," said
Masatoshi Takeichi, director of the RIKEN Center for Developmental
Biology, a RIKEN unit where Obokata works as a research leader.
Takeichi cautioned, however, that despite the flaws in the papers,
the science community would have to wait and see if other research
groups were able to replicate the results before it could assess the
validity of the findings.
According to the Nature papers and media briefings, Obokata and
other researchers took skin and blood cells, let them multiply, then
subjected them to stress "almost to the point of death" by exposing
them to various events including trauma, low oxygen levels and
acidic environments.
One of these "stressful" situations was simply to bathe the cells in
a weak acid solution for around 30 minutes.
Within days, the scientists — Japanese researchers joined by others
from Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in the
United States — said they had found the cells had not only survived
but had also recovered by naturally reverting into a state similar
to that of an embryonic stem cell.
These stem cells — dubbed Stimulus-Triggered Acquisition of
Pluripotency, or STAP, cells by the researchers — were then able to
differentiate and mature into different types of cells and tissues,
depending on the environments they were put in, they said.
(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; editing
by Sonya Hepinstall)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
