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US and Japanese scientists withdraw their claim as to having found a simple way to make stem cells.
The scientists had alleged through two papers that they had arrived at a method involving transformation of ordinary mouse cells into versatile stem cells by exposing them to a mildly acidic environment.
On Wednesday, however, Nature, the journal which had carried the papers in January, released a retraction from Haruko Obokata, the key author of the papers and the other authors of the papers.
The scientists thus acknowledged "extensive" errors that meant "we are unable to say without a doubt" that the method works.
The retraction states: "These multiple errors impair the credibility of the study as a whole and we are unable to say without doubt whether the stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluri¬potency stem cells phenomenon is real.
"Ongoing studies are investigating this phenomenon afresh, but given the extensive nature of the errors currently found we consider it appropriate to retract both papers."
"Although editors and referees could not have detected the fatal faults in this work, the episode has further highlighted flaws in Nature's procedures and in the procedures of institutions that publish with us," Nature said.
It said it had introduced improvements, including an extension to annexes in papers that detail experimental methods used in research, and using statistical advisors to check data.
HN/HN