Japan finds fraudulent steps in 'breakthrough' stem cell paper

[Buster's Uncle]

Japan finds fraudulent steps in 'breakthrough' stem cell paper
Reuters
By Kiyoshi Takenaka  April 1, 2014 6:36 AM



Nobel Prize-winning chemist and President of Japanese research institute RIKEN Ryoji Noyori (C) arrives with other RIKEN executives to a news conference in Tokyo April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino



TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's top research body on Tuesday accused the lead writer of stem cell papers hailed as a game-changer in the field of medical biology of misconduct involving fabrication, but the scientist called the findings unacceptable.

Two papers published in the scientific journal Nature in January detailed simple ways to reprogram mature animal cells back to an embryonic-like state, allowing them to generate many types of tissues.

Such a step would offer hope for a simpler way to replace damaged cells or grow new organs in humans.

But reports have since pointed out irregularities in data and images used in the papers, prompting RIKEN, a semi-governmental research institute and employer of the lead writer, to set up a panel to look into the matter.

The panel said, for example, that one of the articles reused images related to lead writer Haruko Obokata's doctoral dissertation, which was on different experiments.



Nobel Prize-winning chemist and President of Japanese research institute RIKEN Ryoji Noyori (C) bows to apologise with other RIKEN executives during a news conference in Tokyo April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino


"Actions like this completely destroy data credibility," Shunsuke Ishii, head of the committee, told a news conference.

"There is no doubt that she was fully aware of this danger.

We've therefore concluded this was an act of research misconduct involving fabrication."

In a statement, Obokata said she would soon file a complaint with RIKEN, challenging the findings.

"I'm filled with shock and indignation," she said. "If things stay as they are, misunderstanding could arise that the discovery of STAP cells itself is forgery. That would be utterly unacceptable."



Nobel Prize-winning chemist and President of Japanese research institute RIKEN Ryoji Noyori attends a news conference in Tokyo April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino


Obokata, 30, refers to the reprogrammed embryonic-like cells in her team's research by the term Stimulus-Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency, or STAP, cells.

RIKEN may reinvestigate the matter if a complaint is filed. It has not decided what penalty may be imposed on the researcher, the research body said.

Obokata became an instant celebrity in Japan after the publication of her papers, with television broadcasting images of her wearing a traditional Japanese apron, rather than a lab coat, and working in a laboratory with pink-painted walls.

RIKEN did not confirm or deny the existence of STAP cells, but said it planned to launch a verification process to see if they were real.

That will take about a year to complete and will be led by RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori, a 2001 Nobel laureate in chemistry.



Nobel Prize-winning chemist and President of Japanese research institute RIKEN Ryoji Noyori (L) speaks during a news conference in Tokyo April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino


"This is truly regrettable," Noyori said, referring to the probe panel's conclusions.

"I would like to apologize afresh that articles RIKEN researchers published have damaged the credibility of the scientific community," he said, bowing to reporters as camera flashes went off.

According to the Nature papers and media briefings, Obokata and other researchers took skin and blood cells, let them multiply and then subjected them to stress "almost to the point of death" by exposing them to events such as trauma, low oxygen levels and acidic environments.

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 to a state similar to that of an embryonic stem cell.

These stem cells were then able to differentiate and mature into different types of cells and tissues, depending on the environments they were put in, they said.

RIKEN said outside researchers had been unable to replicate the research.

(Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)


http://news.yahoo.com/japan-finds-fraudulent-steps-breakthrough-stem-cell-paper-103641271.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Japan lab says stem cell research falsified
Japan laboratory says probe finds stem cell research falsified, researcher denies fraud
Associated Press
By Elaine Kurtenbach,  17 hours ago



In this Jan. 28, 2014 photo, Japanese government-funded laboratory Riken Center for Development Biology researcher Haruko Obokata, the lead author of a widely heralded stem-cell research paper, speaks about her research results on stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) cells during a press conference in Kobe, western Japan. Scientists at the institute said Tuesday, April 1, that discrepancies in research published in January in scientific journal Nature stemmed from image manipulation and data fabrication. They said Obokata had manipulated or falsified images of DNA fragments used in the research. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)



TOKYO (AP) -- The finding that a lead researcher falsified data in a widely heralded stem-cell research paper is a setback for Japan's efforts to promote its advanced research, but also a symptom of the pressure for breakthroughs in the field, experts say.

The government-funded Riken Center for Development Biology in Kobe, western Japan said Tuesday it had found malpractice by scientist Haruko Obokata in the work on using a simple lab procedure to grow tissue for treating illnesses such as diabetes and Parkinson's disease.

Obokata disputed the allegations, saying in a statement issued by Riken that she plans to appeal the findings issued by a committee set up to investigate discrepancies in the research published in January in the scientific journal Nature.

Nature has refused comment on whether the article might be retracted but said it is conducting its own evaluation and considering Riken's findings.

While Obokata alone was blamed for manipulating images of DNA fragments used in the research, Riken's director Ryoji Noyori held her co-authors "gravely responsible" for negligence in failing to fully verify their findings.

"The Riken incident says much more about the pressures to publish, and the harsh competition in stem cell research, than it does about Japan, I think," Ivan Oransky, global editorial director of MedPage Today, a news service for doctors, said in an email.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made greater gender equality and female advancement in the workforce a plank of his economic revival strategy for Japan. But the recognition of Obokata, a fashionable young woman, as a leading scientist still made waves in conservative, male-dominated Japan.

The developments at Riken are a setback for government efforts to market Japan's research and development expertise as a 21st century industry needed to revitalize the country's manufacturing.

Arthur Caplan, an expert on bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center, said the doubts about the research are a "devastating blow" for Japanese science.

"The government has invested in cutting edge bioscience to promote Japan's economy, so the revelation of fraud and misconduct at a major institute is both an embarrassment for the government and a huge setback for the Japanese research community," he said.

Noyori, the Riken director, said that after allowing for an appeal, disciplinary action would be taken, including calling for retraction of the suspect paper.

Scientists hope to harness stem cells to replace defective tissue in a wide variety of diseases. Making stem cells from a patient would eliminate the risk of transplant rejection.

The researchers in Boston and Japan participating in the project used a simple procedure to turn ordinary cells from mice into stem cells by exposing cells from spleens of newborn mice to a more acidic environment than they are used to.

Cells from other tissue of newborn mice appeared to go through the same change if exposed to any of a variety of stressful situations, the researchers said.

Shunsuke Ishii, chairman of the investigating panel at Riken, told reporters Tuesday that Obokata had said she altered images used in the research to make the results "look more beautiful." Data she recorded also was fragmented and incomplete, he said. Obokata said some of the images were chosen by mistake.

The institute said it would take months more to determine whether the stem cell findings are valid regardless of any questions about the data. Obokata asserts the findings are genuine.

Noyori warned against any "personal attacks or violations of human rights of the authors," vowing to revamp the ethical standards, training and procedures at Riken, a prestigious institution founded in 1917 by Eiichi Shibusawa, a leading Japanese industrialist.

"Research misconduct occurred due to a young researcher's lack of experience and awareness of the importance of research ethics," Noyori said.

Obokata has not recently appeared in public and Juliette Savin, a spokeswoman for Riken, said that she could not comment on her status.

The longer-term implications of the case will depend on how it is handled, said Oransky.

"Riken seems to have acted swiftly and mostly transparently, and that's a good thing," he said.


http://news.yahoo.com/japan-lab-says-stem-cell-033122143.html