The British science journal Nature will soon retract two Japanese papers on stem cells in light of a series of misconduct allegations surrounding the research, sources said Monday.
When Nature published the papers in January, the findings were considered groundbreaking, with lead author Haruko Obokata of the Riken research institute claiming to have successfully produced cells with “stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency,” which allowed them develop into any type of tissue.
Research on the so-called STAP cells will go back to square one once Nature retracts the papers. But they will probably continue to be displayed online, accompanied by an explanation of why they were retracted, the sources said.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.