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alleged STAP cells
Credit: Haruko Obokata
The Japanese research institute RIKEN has completed its investigation of the research on STAP cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency cells) and claims that study authors are guilty of misconduct and negligence.
According to RIKEN, lead study author Haruko Obokata, PhD, is guilty of misconduct because she manipulated study data.
And 2 other authors—Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD, and Teruhiko Wakayama, PhD—should have recognized the data manipulation.
Dr Obokata denied the allegations and said she plans to appeal this judgment. Drs Wakayama and Sasai wrote letters of apology, but Dr Sasai said he still believes the research is valid.
A group of RIKEN researchers has joined other groups in the attempt to replicate Dr Obokata’s experiments and determine if STAP cells can be generated.
About the investigation
RIKEN’s investigation began shortly after Dr Obokata and her colleagues reported the creation of STAP cells. The researchers said they could induce pluripotency by introducing somatic cells to a low-pH environment, and they described this discovery in an article and a letter to Nature.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began questioning the validity of the research, citing issues with images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation into 6 issues with the papers. Early results of the investigation revealed 2 cases of “data mishandling” but no misconduct. And the final results of the investigation suggest 2 of the other issues were simply errors.
However, the 2 remaining issues constituted acts of misconduct, according to RIKEN. In the first case, Dr Obokata switched 1 lane of a diagram for another. She said it was for the purpose of image clarity, but the committee said this change was “intentionally misleading.”
Dr Obokata also used an image of a teratoma from her doctoral thesis (which involved different research). She said she mistakenly used the wrong image, but RIKEN said it was a fraudulent act because the caption on the image had been changed.
Next steps
It is still unclear whether the issues identified affect the results of this research. Dr Obokata and other study authors said the errors do not alter the study’s findings, and creating STAP cells is possible.
Other research groups have attempted to create STAP cells, and most results have suggested it is not possible when using the methods described in the Nature paper (or variations of those methods).
RIKEN has established an internal group that is attempting to verify the results of the STAP experiments. The group expects this process to take about a year.
As for dealing with the alleged misconduct, RIKEN said it will allow for an appeal. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the institution will call for the Nature papers to be retracted and take disciplinary action against Dr Obokata.
Drs Sasai and Wakayama may be subject to disciplinary measures as well. RIKEN said that, although the authors are not guilty of research misconduct, they “still bear heavy responsibility for their administrative negligence.” 
alleged STAP cells
Credit: Haruko Obokata
The Japanese research institute RIKEN has completed its investigation of the research on STAP cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency cells) and claims that study authors are guilty of misconduct and negligence.
According to RIKEN, lead study author Haruko Obokata, PhD, is guilty of misconduct because she manipulated study data.
And 2 other authors—Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD, and Teruhiko Wakayama, PhD—should have recognized the data manipulation.
Dr Obokata denied the allegations and said she plans to appeal this judgment. Drs Wakayama and Sasai wrote letters of apology, but Dr Sasai said he still believes the research is valid.
A group of RIKEN researchers has joined other groups in the attempt to replicate Dr Obokata’s experiments and determine if STAP cells can be generated.
About the investigation
RIKEN’s investigation began shortly after Dr Obokata and her colleagues reported the creation of STAP cells. The researchers said they could induce pluripotency by introducing somatic cells to a low-pH environment, and they described this discovery in an article and a letter to Nature.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began questioning the validity of the research, citing issues with images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation into 6 issues with the papers. Early results of the investigation revealed 2 cases of “data mishandling” but no misconduct. And the final results of the investigation suggest 2 of the other issues were simply errors.
However, the 2 remaining issues constituted acts of misconduct, according to RIKEN. In the first case, Dr Obokata switched 1 lane of a diagram for another. She said it was for the purpose of image clarity, but the committee said this change was “intentionally misleading.”
Dr Obokata also used an image of a teratoma from her doctoral thesis (which involved different research). She said she mistakenly used the wrong image, but RIKEN said it was a fraudulent act because the caption on the image had been changed.
Next steps
It is still unclear whether the issues identified affect the results of this research. Dr Obokata and other study authors said the errors do not alter the study’s findings, and creating STAP cells is possible.
Other research groups have attempted to create STAP cells, and most results have suggested it is not possible when using the methods described in the Nature paper (or variations of those methods).
RIKEN has established an internal group that is attempting to verify the results of the STAP experiments. The group expects this process to take about a year.
As for dealing with the alleged misconduct, RIKEN said it will allow for an appeal. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the institution will call for the Nature papers to be retracted and take disciplinary action against Dr Obokata.
Drs Sasai and Wakayama may be subject to disciplinary measures as well. RIKEN said that, although the authors are not guilty of research misconduct, they “still bear heavy responsibility for their administrative negligence.”
alleged STAP cells
Credit: Haruko Obokata
The Japanese research institute RIKEN has completed its investigation of the research on STAP cells (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency cells) and claims that study authors are guilty of misconduct and negligence.
According to RIKEN, lead study author Haruko Obokata, PhD, is guilty of misconduct because she manipulated study data.
And 2 other authors—Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD, and Teruhiko Wakayama, PhD—should have recognized the data manipulation.
Dr Obokata denied the allegations and said she plans to appeal this judgment. Drs Wakayama and Sasai wrote letters of apology, but Dr Sasai said he still believes the research is valid.
A group of RIKEN researchers has joined other groups in the attempt to replicate Dr Obokata’s experiments and determine if STAP cells can be generated.
About the investigation
RIKEN’s investigation began shortly after Dr Obokata and her colleagues reported the creation of STAP cells. The researchers said they could induce pluripotency by introducing somatic cells to a low-pH environment, and they described this discovery in an article and a letter to Nature.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began questioning the validity of the research, citing issues with images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation into 6 issues with the papers. Early results of the investigation revealed 2 cases of “data mishandling” but no misconduct. And the final results of the investigation suggest 2 of the other issues were simply errors.
However, the 2 remaining issues constituted acts of misconduct, according to RIKEN. In the first case, Dr Obokata switched 1 lane of a diagram for another. She said it was for the purpose of image clarity, but the committee said this change was “intentionally misleading.”
Dr Obokata also used an image of a teratoma from her doctoral thesis (which involved different research). She said she mistakenly used the wrong image, but RIKEN said it was a fraudulent act because the caption on the image had been changed.
Next steps
It is still unclear whether the issues identified affect the results of this research. Dr Obokata and other study authors said the errors do not alter the study’s findings, and creating STAP cells is possible.
Other research groups have attempted to create STAP cells, and most results have suggested it is not possible when using the methods described in the Nature paper (or variations of those methods).
RIKEN has established an internal group that is attempting to verify the results of the STAP experiments. The group expects this process to take about a year.
As for dealing with the alleged misconduct, RIKEN said it will allow for an appeal. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the institution will call for the Nature papers to be retracted and take disciplinary action against Dr Obokata.
Drs Sasai and Wakayama may be subject to disciplinary measures as well. RIKEN said that, although the authors are not guilty of research misconduct, they “still bear heavy responsibility for their administrative negligence.”