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健康人人关心的话题分享 http://blog.sciencenet.cn/u/qpzeng 写“正能量”博客，做“富营养”科普

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小保方晴子的Nature论文会撤稿吗？ 精选

已有 14099 次阅读 2014-4-2 13:47 |个人分类:名人轶事|系统分类:人物纪事| 小保方晴子, obokata

日本RIKEN已于4月1日当天发布了小保方晴子团队Nature论文的最终调查报告，明确指出论文在6个被调查的问题中至少有两项存在“学术不端”（misconduct）。可是，小保方晴子本人却表示坚决反对这个调查结论，并将委托律师提起抗诉，似乎要从学术“战场”转向法律“战场”。

不论这场诉讼的结果如何，它必定是一场旷日持久的“争斗”。对此，同行学者恐怕并不会太关心，而最放心不下的是：论文是真的吗？它描述的方法可以重复吗？在走完诉讼程序之前，小保方晴子团队会撤稿吗？

尽管此前曾有报道称，小保方有意撤稿，另一位作者若山也建议撤稿，但小保方过去的导师也是作者之一的Charls Vacanti坚决不同意撤稿。也许昔日老师的态度给小保方“壮了胆”，她恐怕不会如此轻易认输。

Nature发言人曾经暗示：不一定要征得每位作者同意才能撤稿，并可能由编委会主动、直接撤稿。据本人预测，Nature暂时还不会撤稿，因为前不久小保方又给Nature寄去了论文的修改稿，目前还没有定论。我在想，Nature会不会以“勘误”的形式处理这一事件呢？这要看论文描述的结果是否存在“致命错误”。

不过，作为号称“严谨”的学术期刊，Nature应该尽快做出回应和处理决定，连作者本国科研管理部门都做出了“学术不端”的结论，而且局外人都明白图片、数据造假完全不能用“无心之误”来搪塞，难道它不应该立即撤稿吗？

还有最重要的，假如Nature是受人尊敬的，那么它应该把学术道德放在第一位。一个没有道德诚信的人，注定会损害Nature“百年老店”的声誉，这不得不让Nature慎重对待！

最先质疑小保方论文的Knoepler专门发表博客，谈及他对小保方论文是否撤稿的判断。以下是他从正反两面做出的论证

（http://www.ipscell.com/tag/haruko-obokata/）： 


What are the possible reasons the STAP papers should not be retracted?（不应撤稿的可能理由）

  • STAP cells could still be real（STAP细胞仍可能是真的）. Despite all the issues with the papers and the STAP cell team including some of their past publications, the core STAP cell science could still be real. Admittedly, no independent team has reported in the public domain or via surveys that they could get it to work, but perhaps more time is needed, which brings me to the next point.

  • STAP needs more time（STAP需要更多时间）. In the grand scheme of things, two months in science is a relatively short period of time and retraction is a huge step. More time might be needed to get an entirely clear picture of this situation.

  • Avoid admitting mistake（回避承认错误）. Retraction could be seen publicly as an admission of major screws up by the researchers, RIKEN, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and/or Nature. Who wants to admit they made a big mistake?

  • Some authors do not want retraction（某些作者不愿撤稿）. Typically retraction requires consensus by the authors and some authors–notable Drs. Vacanti and Obokata–are reportedly opposed to retraction. Without a consensus it might be the wrong move to retract.

What are the possible reasons the STAP papers should be retracted?（应该撤稿的可能理由）

  • The STAP papers are unsalvageable（STAP论文无可救药）. Simple corrections to the two papers would be too weak to remedy the many issues with them and that approach would hurtNature‘s reputation. The papers inherently have too many problems that are too serious to be fixable by a correction alone. Taking the correction approach and leaving the papers unretracted would leave Nature with a serious, unhealing black eye. I think the odds are slightly greater than 50-50 that if the authors cannot entirely agree on a retraction, ultimately Nature will probably do an editorial retraction eventually. It could take some time though for them to take such a major action and I would not be surprised if it never happened.

  • STAP technology has little chance for major impact anymore（STAP技术不再能产生重大影响）. Even if STAP “works” at some point for someone else, it is not likely to be a high impact discovery. Given the efforts put into trying to get it to work by many strong stem cell teams around the world, it is nearly impossible that STAP can be a broadly applicable technology.

  • Some authors want retraction（作者主动撤稿）. It would seem to be a deeply troubling sign that reportedly some of the STAP authors, most notably Dr. Teru Wakayama (senior author on the STAP Nature letter), want the papers retracted.

  • Best for those involved to put this behind them quickly（很多牵涉其中者想尽快甩包袱）. If RIKEN, some of the researchers involved, Nature, and/or Brigham and Women’s refuse to retract the papers, I predict that the STAP situation will linger as a damaging scandal, potentially for years, harming many of those involved. Better, as the saying goes, to rip the Band-Aid off quickly and get it over with so you can move on and heal.

  • Show the world the stem cell field doesn’t tolerate this kind of stuff（向世界表明干细胞领域对此零容忍）. STAP can give the biomedical sciences and the stem cell field a black eye. Dealing with it openly and with a just intolerance for this level of transgressions rightly provides an indication that the field overall is robust, has the highest standards, and can be trusted by the public. Anyone can make one or even a few mistakes, but there is a deeply troubling pattern of mistakes and possibly even more seriously concerning conduct with the STAP papers and other publications by some of the same team members.

附：世界各大媒体的相关报道


Science网站4月1日报道

RIKEN Panel Finds Misconduct in Reprogrammed Stem Cell Papers
1 April 2014 5:15 am
4 Comments
Standing room only. A press conference unveiling the final report of a RIKEN investigating committee into STAP cells drew hundreds of reporters.

Dennis Normile

Standing room only. A press conference unveiling the final report of a RIKEN investigating committee into STAP cells drew hundreds of reporters.

TOKYO—An investigating committee has concluded that falsification and fabrication mar two recent Nature papers reporting a new, simple way to reprogram mature cells into stem cells. The committee concluded that these acts constitute research misconduct, but it stopped short of calling for the papers to be retracted and will leave the question of disciplinary action to a separate committee. RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori today said he favors one paper's retraction if the committee’s findings are upheld in an appeals process.

“I am filled with feelings of indignation and surprise,” said lead author Haruko Obokata, of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (RIKEN CDB) in Kobe, Japan, in a statement. She wrote that she intends to appeal the judgment.“我满是愤怒与不解的感觉”，第一作者小保方晴子在一份声明中说道。她还写道：她准备提起诉讼。

The committee's final report (in Japanese), released today, is the latest blow against a surprisingly simple method for creating stem cells, known as STAP (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency), published in a Naturearticle and an accompanying letter online on 29 January by Obokata and colleagues at RIKEN CDB, along with other institutions in Japan and at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Their method relied on briefly bathing blood cells from newborn mice in a mildly acidic solution and then tweaking culture conditions to produce stem cells. This method, if it proves viable, would be an alternative to far more complicated but established methods of deriving stem cells, which are prized for possible use in regenerative medicine.


Almost immediately after publication, bloggers in Japan and contributors to PubPeer, a website where scientists discuss published papers, started pointing out possibly manipulated images and apparently plagiarized text. A RIKEN researcher notified the institute's Auditing and Compliance Office of these doubts on 13 February. On 17 February, after a preliminary compliance office investigation, RIKEN assembled a six-person investigating committee chaired by Shunsuke Ishii, a RIKEN molecular geneticist, to investigate six specific allegations. The committee, which includes outside experts, released an interim report on 14 March that found problems but stopped short of calling them misconduct. Its final report, released today during a press conference, did identify two instances of research misconduct.

One of these involves splicing together parts of two photos of electrophoresis gels into figure 1i of the paper. The report calls this an "act of research misconduct corresponding to falsification." The other instance was reusing data apparently from Obokata's doctoral thesis in the paper, even though the doctoral experiments were significantly different and conducted under different conditions. The reused images appear in figures 2d and 2e of the paper and constituted "an act of research misconduct involving fabrication," the report states.

Regarding figure 1i, “[t]he idea was to present an easy-to-view photo,” Obokata wrote in her statement. The changes to the image “did not change the obtained results.” Problems with figures 2d and 2e were the result of a simple mix-up that the team had spotted on its own, she wrote, adding that they have submitted a correction toNature.

The report found further problems that affect the credibility of the research. For example, part of a description of a method for karyotyping—examining the number and structure of chromosomes in a cell—was not only copied from a paper published by a separate group, but was also not consistent with the procedure actually followed by Obokata’s team. But the committee says Obokata had faithfully cited many other publications and couldn't recall where the text came from, so the committee found it impossible to call this misconduct.

The report also says that the experiments are so poorly documented "that it will be extremely difficult for anyone else to accurately trace or understand her experiments." In a stinging summary, the committee wrote: "Dr. Obokata's actions and sloppy data management lead us to the conclusion that she sorely lacks, not only a sense of research ethics, but also integrity and humility as a scientific researcher."

Obokata was the only member of the team judged guilty of research misconduct. But the report notes that co-authors Teruhiko Wakayama, a former RIKEN researcher now at the University of Yamanashi in Kofu, and Yoshiki Sasai, of RIKEN CDB, who worked with Obokata to finalize the research, "allowed the papers to be submitted toNature without verifying the accuracy of the data, and they bear heavy responsibility for the research misconduct that resulted from this failure on their part." The report does not mention the non-Japanese co-authors.

At a press conference today, Ishii emphasized that the panel focused solely on the six issues that were raised at the outset of the investigation. He said the committee did not try to assess the overall validity of the papers, whether they should be retracted, or if STAP cells can be created.

Wakayama, in a written statement, expressed remorse “for failing to look into the legitimacy and accuracy of data produced in my lab by someone under my supervision.” But Obokata remains confident in her finding. “At this stage, considering the STAP cell discovery itself to be fabricated is a misunderstanding; I cannot possibly accept this," she wrote.小保方继续坚信她的发现。她写道：“在现阶段，考虑STAP细胞发现被伪造是一种误解，我不可能接受这个报告”。

At today’s press conference, RIKEN president and Nobel laureate Ryoji Noyori said that RIKEN researchers will attempt to replicate the disputed findings; the institute will also cooperate with outside groups trying to replicate the STAP method. Although many groups have apparently tried, there have been no reports of success. "I don’t really hear from almost anyone who fully believes in STAP cells anymore," wrote stem cell researcher Paul Knoepfler of the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine wrote in a 25 March blog post.

"I will, if the misconduct is confirmed following the proper appeals process, recommend that one of the papers in question be retracted,” Noyori said, reading a prepared statement. (Most of the problems identified by the committee pertain to the research article.) “Further, strict but fair disciplinary action will be taken on the basis of recommendations by a disciplinary committee set up for this purpose."

He also promised to set up a committee of external experts to appraise research procedures; its findings will guide changes in governance and policies at RIKEN to prevent a recurrence, Noyori said.

Nature网站4月1日报道

Stem-cell scientist found guilty of misconduct

But Japanese researcher stands by her claim to be able to produce stem cells using an acid bath or mechanical stress.

01 April 2014 Updated: 01 April 2014

Eugene Hoshiko/AP/Press Association Images

RIKEN president Ryoji Noyori bows during a press conference in Tokyo, where investigators revealed the results of their investigation into Haruko Obokata's research.

Expand

A committee investigating problems in papers claiming a method to apply stress to create embryonic like cells has found the lead researcher guilty of scientific misconduct.

The judgement is the latest twist — but not the final word — in the bizarre story of stimulus-triggered activation of pluripotency (STAP), a method that researchers at the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology (CDB) in Kobe, Japan, still say is able to turn ordinary mature mouse cells into cells that share embryonic stem cells' capacity to turn into all of the body’s cells.

The technology was presented in two Nature papers1, 2 on 30 January by the CDB’s Haruko Obokata together with colleagues in Japan and the United States, but a slew of problems has been identified since then. (Nature’s news and comment team is editorially independent of its research editorial team.)Obokata did not appear.A six-person committee — three RIKEN scientists, two university researchers and a lawyer — looked at six problems. Four were dismissed as innocent errors, but in two cases the committee found that Obokata had manipulated data in an intentionally misleading fashion. They branded it scientific misconduct at the press conference where the committee announced its results this morning or at an afternoon press conference where RIKEN management, led by director Ryoji Noyori, gave RIKEN's response. But in a written statement, Obokata said she planned to appeal the judgement.

One problem concerned a figure showing electrophoresis gels. One lane in a diagram had been swapped for another. Obokata says that she made the switch because the other lane was clearer and she did not think it a problem. The committee found the swap to be intentionally misleading manipulation.

The committee also condemned Obokata’s use of an image from her doctoral thesis, in which the image, of a type of tumour called a teratoma, had been used to show the broad-ranging developmental capacity of cells she made by putting pressure on the cell membranes using a pipette. The image in the Nature paper was meant to show the same developmental capacity, but those cells were said to be made by stressing the cells with acid. Obokata said that she mistakenly added the wrong image. But the committee, noting that captions on the image had been changed, judged it to be fraudulent.

The committee repeatedly fended off questions about whether the technology works and, thus, whether STAP cells actually exist. “That is beyond the scope of our investigation,” said committee chair Shunsuke Ishii, a molecular biologist at RIKEN in Tsukuba, Japan.

In her letter, Obokata says that the spliced gel lane did nothing to change the study’s results. “There was no merit in falsifying data, and I had no intention of doing so when I made the image. I only wanted to have a better image,” she writes. Use of the duplicated image was also “a simple mistake” made because the images were similar. Obokata says that she had already identified the mistakes and sent Nature a correction.

Ishii says that Obokata provided teratoma slides that, she said, were from the Nature experiment. But, because of poor data management and the failure to properly label samples in the laboratory, “it’s impossible to know exactly where it came from,” he says.

A spokesperson for the journal says, "Nature does not comment on corrections or retractions that may or may not be under consideration. Nature takes all issues related to these papers very seriously, is conducting its own evaluation and considering the results of the RIKEN investigation. We cannot comment further at this stage."

Obokata says that the committee’s judgement of misconduct is “unacceptable” and that she plans to appeal it soon.小保方说委员会做出的不端评价是“不可接受的”，而且她准备立即申诉。

Ripple effects

The committee also investigated the involvement of three co-authors, Yoshiki Sasai and Hitoshi Niwa, both at the CDB, and Teruhiko Wakayama, who left RIKEN last year for the University of Yamanashi, Japan.

Sasai, who helped Obokata write the paper, and Wakayama, in whose laboratory Obokata worked as a researcher before getting her own research unit, were cleared of involvement in the misconduct but found to carry responsibility for failure to check the data.

Both wrote letters of apology. In his, Sasai reaffirmed his belief that STAP works. “Even if the problematic data is removed, there are some results that can only be explained by STAP,” he writes.

The committee said that Niwa’s involvement started too late in the process to warrant censure.

During the press conference, reporters expressed frustration that the investigation didn’t go further. The committee limited itself to six problems, even though other problems have been flagged. Wakayama, for example, has already initiated genetic tests that have the potential to either identify serious inconsistencies in the protocol or support the paper’s claims, but the investigation committee said that it has not done any similar genetic studies on purported STAP cells from Obokata’s laboratory. In fact, they did not have clear answers about what materials were available.

Asked whether there was evidence that Obokata actually did the experiments, Ishii said that “it’s difficult to tell with any kind of rigour”, because the two notebooks she provided were missing dates and other essential information. Although he has overseen many junior researchers, “I have never experienced this kind of carelessness,” Ishii said.

RIKEN will now set up a committee to determine punishment. Meanwhile, a CDB team led by Shinichi Aizawa and Niwa will spend the next year trying to test whether the technique works. Any successful outcome will be cross-checked by a third party.

Kenneth Lee, a developmental biologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, says that he tried to reproduce Obokata’s results by following her protocol as closely as possible. Four attempts ended in failure. Asked whether RIKEN should spend another year trying to make STAP cells, Lee says: “it makes sense — but not with her method.”

Nature doi:10.1038/nature.2014.14974
Updates
Updated:

The story was updated with more details on the announcement and its reverberations, and with a comment from Nature's research editorial team.

References

  1. Obokata, H. et al. Nature 505, 641–647 (2014).


  2. Obokata, H. et al. Nature 505, 676–680 (2014).




日本《读卖新闻》4月1日报道

RIKEN concludes Obokata fabricated STAP research

The Yomiuri Shimbun

RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori bows to apologize at a press conference Tuesday afternoon in Tokyo.


9:18 pm, April 01, 2014


The Yomiuri ShimbunRIKEN’s investigative committee on Tuesday concluded that RIKEN research unit leader Haruko Obokata had engaged in “research misconduct” as the lead author of research articles by the government-funded research institute’s scientists on stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) cells.

At a press conference, RIKEN officials said Obokata intentionally made alterations and fabrications to images used in the research articles accepted by the British scientific journal Nature and published in January. RIKEN said her deeds constitute fraudulent acts as a researcher and concluded that Obokata, 30, carried out the research misconduct alone.

The committee released its final report on allegations regarding the research papers, though it did not mention whether STAP cells were really produced by Obokata’s team, which claimed to have discovered and made such cells.

At a followup press conference, RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori said: “I apologize for having this incident occur, which may damage the trustworthiness of the scientific community.”

Noyori expressed an intention to recommend that the writers of the articles retract them and to punish the relevant researchers and officials.

Obokata, through a lawyer, announced her intention to file a petition objecting to RIKEN’s findings.小保方通过律师宣布，她准备提交一份请愿书反对RIKEN的调查结果。

Regarding whether STAP cells were really produced, the investigative committee said it was outside the scope of the current investigation. RIKEN aims to spend one year conducting experiments to replicate the research results. The committee said an interim report about the experiments will be released, possibly four months from now.

RIKEN launched the investigative committee in February after doubts were raised about the research. The committee interviewed Obokata, University of Yamanashi Prof. Teruhiko Wakayama, a coauthor of the articles who was formerly a RIKEN researcher, Yoshiki Sasai, the deputy director of RIKEN’s Center for Developmental Biology who wrote the manuscripts with Obokata, and Hitoshi Niwa, the project leader. Data that the researchers submitted to Nature were also handed over.

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  • The Yomiuri Shimbun

    Haruko Obokata


In the committee’s interim report released in March, the committee judged that two of the six points of contention raised did not involve fraudulent actions. This time, the committee released its conclusions on the remaining four points.

The committee concluded that one point of intentional alteration and one point of fabrication were confirmed in images used in the research articles.

Shunsuke Ishii, distinguished senior scientist of RIKEN who chairs the committee, said at the press conference that the fabrication was found in four images purporting to show that STAP cells have capabilities to develop into various kinds of cells, such as those of muscles and nerves.

“There are only two notebooks recording experiments for three years,” he said, “so we were unable to scientifically trace the origins.”

The committee concluded that the images were from those used in Obokata’s doctoral dissertation, which she wrote in 2011 based on different experiments.

When Obokata was questioned by the committee about the images, she said that she “used them by mistake.”

The committee, however, stated: “They are very important data for indicating the pluripotency of STAP cells. She took the action being aware of the point that doing so would destroy the trustworthiness of the articles.”

Regarding images of genes purported to indicate that STAP cells were produced from lymphocyte cells, the committee concluded that parts of the image were patched from other images, and the deed constitutes a fraudulent act “to alter the data aiming to make them look more beautiful.”

The committee said that Obokata alone did the problematic deeds and judged that the other three researchers investigated, including Sasai, did not engage in any fraudulent conduct. The three were unable to easily detect the fabrication, the committee said.

However, about Sasai and Wakayama, the committee noted: “Their responsibilities are heavy over their failures to confirm the data’s accuracy.”

RIKEN President Noyori said: “After necessary procedures, such as guaranteeing their right to file a petition of objection, I will recommend retracting one of the research articles.”

Regarding punishments to be imposed on involved persons, Noyori said: “Our disciplinary committee will do so strictly.”

Obokata objects

Obokata released a letter Tuesday objecting to the committee’s final report. Obokata said she received a copy of the final report on Monday and had the intention to file a petition of objection.小保方于周三发出一封信，反对该委员会的最终报告。小保方说，她已于周一收到这份最终报告的副本，并准备提交抗诉请愿书。

“I can never accept the conclusion that labels my research results as alterations and fabrications,” she said.她说：“我绝不接受把我的研究结果贴上篡改与伪造的标签”。

Obokata also said that on March 9 she sent to Nature revised versions of the research article in question under the names of all the authors of the original articles.小保方还说，3月9日她以所有文章作者的名义给Nature寄送了两篇研究论文的修改版本。


美国《华盛顿邮报》4月1日报道

Rising Japanese scientist faked heralded stem cell research, lab says

  • BY TERRENCE MCCOY

  • April 1 at 5:08 am

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) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT

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)

In her short scientific career, the trajectory of Haruko Obokata was meteoric. Before the 30-year-old was 20, she was accepted into the science department at Tokyo’s Waseda University where the admittance board placed great importance on a candidate’s aspirations.

Then she studied at Harvard University in what was supposed to be a half-year program, but advisers were so impressed with her research, they asked her stay longer.

It was there that she would come up with an idea that would come to define her — in ways good and bad. The research was called STAP — “stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency” — which unveiled a new way to grow tissue. “I think about my research all day long, including when I am taking a bath and when I am on a date with my boyfriend,” Obokata told the Asahi Shimbun.

Last January, just three years after Obokata earned her PhD, she published what appeared to be her groundbreaking research in the scientific journal Nature. It purported to establish a new way to grow tissue and treat complicated illnesses like diabetes and Parkinson’s disease with an uncomplicated lab procedure. Many called it the third most significant breakthrough in stem cell research.

“There were many days when I wanted to give up on my research and cried all night long,” she said at news conference. “But I encouraged myself to hold on just for one more day.”

The headlines were thunderous. “Stem cell ‘major discovery’ claimed,” BBC bellowed. ”STAP cell pioneer nearly gave up on her research,” reported the Asahi Shimbun. “Scientist triumphed over setbacks,” crooned the Japan News.

On Tuesday morning, Obokata’s research institute, Riken, which is almost entirely funded by the government, announced that the 30-year-old had purposely fabricated the data to produce the findings. Institute director Ryoji Noyori said he’ll “rigorously punish relevant people after procedures in a disciplinary committee,” according to AFP.

The investigation’s head said the paper “amounts to phony research or fabrication.” He added: ”The manipulation was used to improve the appearance of the results.”

Obokata, for her part, denied the month-long investigation’s allegations. “I will file a complaint against Riken as it’s absolutely impossible for me to accept this,” AFP reports her saying in a statement.小保方本人拒绝接受这个为期一个月的调查所得出的结论，AFP引述她在一份声明中的说法：“我会提交一份给Riken的抗诉书，因为我绝对不可能接受这个结论”。

Whispers began soon after the paper hit print. No one was able to successfully reproduce the experiment. According to Riken’s preliminary report, the institute received its first hint that not everything was as it seemed with Obokata’s research on February 13, and eventually conceded there were “serious errors.”

Riken said it launched its probe of the research that day “given the seriousness of the issue.”

In early March one of the paper’s co-authors, Teruhiko Wakayama, jumped ship, calling for a retraction of the findings. “It’s unlikely that it was a careless mistake,” he wrote the Wall Street Journal in an e-mail.

“There is no more credibility when there are such crucial mistakes,” he added.

At issue, investigators say, are images of DNA fragments submitted into Obokata’s work. They say they weren’t the result of “errors,” as previously theorized. The images were either doctored or entirely fabricated.



美国《新闻周刊》4月1日报道


Haruko Obokata, Who Claimed Stem Cell Breakthrough, Found Guilty of Scientific Misconduct

 | Updated: 4/1/14 at 12:06 PM
Haruko Obokata
The rising scientific star claimed to be able to produce stem cells from ordinary cells in simple laboratory procedures. 
Filed Under: Tech & Science, Stem Cells, Health and Science

Dr. Haruko Obokata, a rising star of the scientific community and the lead author on two papers heralded for revolutionizing the field of stem cell research, has been found guilty of scientific misconduct by Japan’s leading research institute.

The accusation is the latest problem for the research, which has claimed stem cells can be produced from ordinary cells in simple laboratory procedures: bathing regular cells in an acid or applying mechanical stressors like “squeezing.” The research, known as stimulus triggered activation of pluripotency (STAP), was published in Nature in January and recently ran into questions of methodology.

On Tuesday morning, the research institute RIKEN announced that Obokata, 30, had deliberately fabricated the data to produce the findings. Institute Director Ryoji Noyori said he planned to “rigorously punish relevant people after procedures in a disciplinary committee,” according to AFP. Shunsuke Ishii, chairman of the investigative committee examining the matter, told reporters that “Obokata alone is responsible for the misconduct.”

The committee looked at six problems, and four were dismissed as purely accidental. But in two cases, as Nature explains, the committee found that Obokata had manipulated data with the intent to mislead. Among the evidence cited were her “fragmentary and not dated” lab notes, as well as an image that was allegedly reused from her doctoral thesis, which Obokata says was added mistakenly.

As The Washington Post notes, Obokata’s ascent in the scientific community was swift and much lauded. Before she turned 20, Obokata was accepted by the science department of Waseda University in Tokyo. Later, while studying at Harvard, her adviser was so impressed that he asked her to extend her stay. The discovery now under fire, that ordinary mouse cells could easily be converted into stem cells, was published just three years after Obakata received her Ph.D.

At the press conference Tuesday, the committee would not answer questions about whether STAP cells might actually exist, despite the alleged problems with the studies. “That is beyond the scope of our investigation,” the committee chair said, according to Nature.

Obokata says she will stand by her research.小保方说她将坚守她的研究。

“I am filled with surprise and anger after receiving the final report of RIKEN’s investigation panel,” she wrote in a statement. “I absolutely cannot accept the report’s conclusion. I will file a complaint with RIKEN shortly”.“在收到RIKEN调查委员会的最终报告后，我内心充满疑惑与愤怒”，她在一份声明中写道，“我绝对不能接受这份报告的结论，我将很快向RIKEN提出抗诉”。

日本《日经中文网》4月1日报道


新型万能细胞论文被认定有不正行为



由于对小保方晴子等人发表的新型万能细胞“STAP细胞”的论文不断遭到质疑，日本理化学研究所4月1日公布了对论文的最终调查报告。认定小保方晴子存在不正行为，论文中使用的图片曾出现在其他论文中和被加工过。对于理化学研究所的调查报告,小保方晴子表示“无法接受”。


      理化学研究所的调查委员会（石井俊辅任委员长）1日上午公布了最终调查结果。理研的野依良治理事长接受记者采访时表示，办完规定的手续后“将建议作者等人撤回论文”。同时表示“理研研究者的论文损害了科学社会的信赖，再次表示歉意”。关于对小保方晴子等论文作者的处分，野依良治表示“惩戒委员会经过商议后将严厉处分”。

      关于刊登在英国科学杂志《自然》上的论文使用的图片和小保方晴子2011年博士论文中的图片十分相似等2点疑问，最终调查报告认定论文存在不正行为。论文中的图片被作为STAP细胞可能培育为各种细胞的根据，不过该图片与小保方博士论文中非STAP细胞的图片极为相似。最终调查报告断定图片属于捏造数据。

     报告承认用于显示STAP细胞是从体细胞培育出的基因分析的实验图像被人为加工过了。

     STAP细胞论文第一作者、理研研究小组学术带头人小保方晴子4月1日也发表声明称“无法接受调查结果。将于近期提起申述”。

      小保方晴子通过作为其代理人的律师发表声明称“感到非常震惊和愤怒”。对于被认定为有不正行文的2点问题，声明中指出“谨遵理化学研究所的规定，无疑不属于学术不正行为,并且绝无恶意，尽管如此还是被认定为篡改和捏造，无法接受这一调查结果”。

     小保方晴子还强调“STAP细胞的发现也可能被误解为是捏造的，实在无法容忍”。

      STAP细胞的论文于今年1月被刊登在《自然》杂志上，由于提出可简单培育出万能细胞而备受关注。小保方已经同意撤回论文，论文被撤回的可能性很大。






小保方事件追踪
https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-281238-781355.html

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