"Scientists in Japan showed stem cells can now be made quickly just by dipping blood cells into acid
Cory Geesaman
![Mega [Andreas Stuermer]'s profile photo](http://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a-/ALV-UjUNVm1hB8tAcAAFPeCKG7sAAOMXtiGvFTd7NEBaHFgxRcdy1Lnb=s40-c)
Mega [Andreas Stuermer]
Some time ago we talked that you shouldn't inject yourself your own stem cells. But would they really develop into cancer? their p53 and ras was not mutated so they should just remain stem cells. Or differentiate (more likely)
DIYBIO Groningen
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SC
Emmette Hutchison
http://www.ipscell.com/stap-new-data/
Stem cell paper may be retracted.
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Jonathan Cline
On Friday, January 31, 2014 11:24:33 AM UTC-8, Cory Geesaman wrote:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28658269
"Japanese scientist involved in a scandal over discredited stem cell research has been found dead at his laboratory in an apparent suicide. ... Prof Sasai, the centre's deputy chief, was widely respected in the scientific community. But earlier this year two studies that he supervised caused controversy, after other scientists failed to replicate the results. The two papers, both published in the journal, Nature in January 2014, had suggested that stem cells could be produced from normal adult cells by dipping them into acid for a 30-minute shock period. These "STAP" cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) held great promise for both developmental biology and medical science. But the widely reported findings were too good to be true, attracting scepticism and, eventually, claims of scientific fraud. The work was investigated by RIKEN and retracted by Nature in July, amid concern that some of the results had been fabricated. Although the study's first author, Dr Haruko Obokata, was found guilty of misconduct, Prof Sasai was cleared of direct involvement. He was criticised, however, for his supervision of Dr Obokata and for not spotting inconsistencies in the publications. Prof Sasai had said he was "deeply ashamed" of the problems in the papers and regretful of his role in the scandal."
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Dakota Hamill
Wow that's crazy and sad.
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Jonathan Cline
On Tuesday, March 11, 2014 9:55:19 AM UTC-7, ERH wrote:
Just to clarify, there are two issues with this paper. There were figures in the manuscript that were questionable and this is largely what is prompting the possible retraction (article from New Scientist below with a bit more info.)
The more pressing issue is that very few groups have been able to replicate this data:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25077-acidbath-stem-cell-results-called-into-question.html#.Ux80TPmwLYg - tracked
Emmette
How was the original peer review conducted in order to get this paper published in the first place? And, manipulation of data (especially in figures, where it is easy to fudge in the right direction) is not as rare as anyone might assume. Even on the industry side, I have heard too many stories of biotech teams altering data, for example, to get a new drug to the next stage of testing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/world/asia/scientist-who-had-claimed-stem-cell-breakthrough-resigns-from-japanese-research-institute.html
Scientist Who Had Claimed Stem Cell Breakthrough Resigns From Japanese Research Institute
TOKYO — In a blow to the prestige of Japan’s scientific community, a government-backed research institute accepted the resignation of one of its highest-profile scientists on Friday after she failed to replicate research results that were once hailed as a breakthrough in stem cell research.
The institute, Riken, had given the researcher, Haruko Obokata, 31, three months to repeat the experiments that were the basis for her claimed discovery earlier this year of a remarkably simple way to make stem cells, a type of cell that could hold the key to futuristic medical treatments. On Friday, the institute announced that she had failed to replicate a new type of stem cell known as STAP cells, for stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency, a term that refers to the cells’ ability to turn into any other type of cell.
That ability allows stem cells to grow into any kind of cell, like muscle and brain cells. By appearing to offer an easier way to make stem cells, Ms. Obokata’s claimed discovery of STAP cells seemed to bring doctors a step closer to medical treatments in which they could regenerate damaged nerves or other tissues or even grow entire organs.
However, at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday, Riken officials said they had concluded that there was little likelihood that such STAP cells actually exist. Bowing in apology, they also said they had accepted the resignation of Ms. Obokata, a stem cell biologist at the institute’s Center for Developmental Biology in Kobe.
After her initial claim that her research team had made the breakthrough, Ms. Obokata was lauded for establishing Japan as a leader in research into stem cells and the promising new field of regenerative medicine. She also became an instant media star, winning praise as a woman who had succeeded in the male-dominated world of science and who seemed destined for a Nobel Prize.
But her claims of creating STAP cells quickly began to unravel after revelations that she had altered or misrepresented illustrations in two research papers that appeared in the journal Nature. In the spring, Riken concluded that the papers were so riddled with problems that they should be retracted.
In September, Riken gave Ms. Obokata the chance to salvage her reputation by reproducing the results in a specially built laboratory, where she was constantly monitored by scientists and also by surveillance cameras. However, her hopes for redemption seemed to take an ominous turn for the worse a month later, when her supervisor at Riken and a co-author of her papers, the biologist Yoshiki Sasai, committed suicide, apparently to take responsibility for the turmoil.
On Friday, Riken officials said they had decided to halt any further efforts to reproduce STAP cells. In a measure of how the scandal has damaged the reputation of Japanese scientific research, the minister of education, science and technology, Hakubun Shimomura, weighed in to express regret over the incident and criticize Ms. Obokata.
“Misconduct cannot be tolerated in the world of science,” Mr. Shimomura told reporters.
Ms. Obokata did not attend the Riken news conference or appear in public on Friday. Instead, she released a statement in which she said she was “perplexed” by her own failure to verify her research results.
“I feel very responsible for causing trouble to the institute and many other people, and cannot apologize enough to them,” said the statement, carried by Japan’s Kyodo news agency.
The statement of contrition was a reversal from Ms. Obokata’s previously spirited defense of her research. At a news conference in April, she claimed to have created STAP cells in the laboratory “more than 200 times.”
In her papers, Ms. Obokata claimed to have succeeded in finding what appeared to be a fast and easy way of creating stem cells from regular mouse cells, by immersing them in an acidic bath. However, when she tried to reproduce these STAP cells in the specially supervised laboratory, Ms. Obokata failed to make cells that were capable of developing into multiple types of tissue, as true stem cells can, Riken said. A separate group of researchers also failed to replicate the results by following Ms. Obokata’s steps as described in her papers, the institute said.
An earlier version of this article misstated the month that Haruko Obokata began trying to replicate her research results, and the number of months she was given to do so. She began in September, not July, and was given three months to repeat the experiments, not five. The second error also appeared in the summary with this article.
Stem cell scandal scientist Haruko Obokata resigns
By James Gallagher Health editor, BBC News websiteA Japanese stem cell scientist at the heart of a scandal over false claims and fabricated research has resigned.
Dr Haruko Obokata published supposedly groundbreaking research showing stem cells could be made quickly and cheaply.
There were irregularities in data, no other group in the world could repeat her findings and her own university concluded it could not be done.
In a statement Dr Obokata said: "I even can't find the words for an apology."
Stem cells can become any other type of tissue and hold great potential in medicine.
They are already being investigated to heal the damage caused by a heart attack and to restore sight.
But they are expensive and difficult to produce and one source - embryos - raises serious ethical questions.
'Major discovery'Dr Obokata's scientific paper published in the prestigious journal Nature claimed that stem cells could be produced from normal adult cells by dipping them into acid for a 30-minute shock period.
The announcement of the creation of these "Stap" cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) sent shockwaves around the world.
They were described as a "major scientific discovery" and a "game changer" by respected scientists in the field.
However, the findings were too good to be true.
The work was investigated by the Riken Institute, the centre that conducted the research, and was retracted by Nature in July, amid concern that some of the results had been fabricated.
Dr Haruko Obokata was later found guilty of misconduct.
Riken has been attempting to reproduce the results, but this week announced it had been unsuccessful.
Shinichi Aizawa from the university said: "We have conducted verification experiments but can't repeat the Stap phenomenon. As a result, we will terminate the verification experiments."
In her resignation announcement, Dr Obokata said: "I worked hard for three months to show significant results, but I'm so exhausted now and extremely puzzled.
"I am keenly aware of my responsibility for troubling a number of people because of my inexperience.
"I even can't find the words for an apology."
Riken has accepted her resignation.
Prof Chris Mason, from University College London, told the BBC: "There were serious problems with the whole thing.
"They've given her a chance, which is right, but she didn't manage to reproduce the results.
"I don't think it has damaged science, there have been some really solid breakthroughs this year and the focus is on truly transformative therapies."