Nature, a scientific journal that publishes peer-reviewed research from around the world, retracted two studies that discussed a simple way to create master stem cells for disease treatment.
In January, scientists from the Riken Center for Development Biology located in Kobe, Japan, published two papers describing how stem cells could be transformed into their embryonic-like phase by agitating them using a chemical.
This method offered a new and easier way of producing stem cells, which could have significant implications on medical usage, particularly for tissue transplants.
But on Wednesday, Nature announced that they retracted these studies due to some flaws observed in the papers.
The paper's lead author Haruko Obokata described their team's methodology as stressing the blood cells by slowly integrating them into a low-acid solution. This solution enabled the cells to assume their embryonic-like figure. But the scientific community identified errors in the research. For one, there were mistakes in the figures and calculations, as well as reported plagiarism in the methodology portion. Many laboratories tried to duplicate the research's method, but failed to get the same results.
Riken started their own investigation and found out that Dr. Obokata indeed misrepresented the data from her studies.
In one of their retractions, Dr Obokata and her team acknowledged the errors in their research.
"These multiple errors impair the credibility of the study as a whole and we are unable to say without doubt whether the [STAP] phenomenon is real," the authors wrote, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.
Charles Vacanti of Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, and co-author of the paper, also agreed to withdraw the paper from the journal.
"I am deeply saddened by all that has transpired, and after thoughtful consideration of the errors presented in the RIKEN report and other concerns that have been raised, I have agreed to retract the papers," Vacanti told Reuters.
Meanwhile, a representative for Nature admitted that this incident called them in reviewing the flaws in their procedures in checking the papers to identify how they overlooked the flaws and critical errors of the stem cell papers.
