Just how often do press releases (PR) get science wrong? A new paper came out from the lab of Matthias Lutolf in Nature Materials that seems interesting. Using a special matrix, reprogramming of cells reportedly worked better. Good stuff. However, a (PR) from the home institution of EPFL and media pick up on the story used […]
Squeeze PR on stem cell paper evokes STAP cell bad vibrations, gets corrected Read More »
The publication yesterday of two papers refuting the existence of so-called STAP cells marches us closer as a field toward closure on this unfortunate situation. Close, but not quite there. We know a lot more about what went happened, but 5 key questions remain. There is a chance that we may never get answers to
Key Remaining Questions about STAP Cell Mess Read More »
Today marks nearing the completion of a full circle for one of science’s biggest controversies: the STAP cell fiasco. Today STAP cells are completely refuted with the publication of two new papers in Nature and we know much more–with some notable gaps still–about what went wrong. STAP cells debunked In January of last year, an
New Nature papers debunk STAP cells Read More »
It seems hard to believe it was a year ago that the STAP cell Nature papers came out to much fanfare on January 29, 2014. These now discredited and retracted papers reported a supposed new method to easily make reprogrammed powerful stem cells, a finding touted as a Nobel Prize-worthy discovery. Now a year later on
Personal Reflections on STAP Cell Mess On 1-Year Anniversary Read More »
The Japanese research institute RIKEN has come full circle in a way on the STAP cell scandal. Note that the STAP papers included not only authors from RIKEN, but also from Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. With its final report released today (also a powerpoint of images were released including the one showing a
Perspectives on final RIKEN report on STAP cell scandal & what comes next Read More »
Here is an updated timeline for the major events (and links) for the STAP cell fiasco. If you think absolutely critical events are missing, let me know in the comments and I’ll consider adding them. [table id=STAP_TimeLine2 /]
Newly Update Comprehensive STAP Cell Timeline with Key Events & Links Read More »
Signaling a nightmare ending to what was originally a fairy tale scientific story, the Japanese press (e.g. here) are reporting that Haruko Obokata has herself been unable to make STAP cells again as part of a RIKEN team testing STAP under watchful supervision. In advance of a scheduled RIKEN press conference tomorrow, newspapers including Asahi Shimbun are
Obokata Can’t Reproduce STAP Cells Read More »
Did you eventually get sick of the whole STAP mess and all the baggage that came with it? Stay tuned for STAP 2.0 or perhaps I should say STAP junior. Just as STAP is starting to fade a bit from our radar screens, there is unfortunately a new very problematic stem cell paper situation coming soon
STAP cell 2.0? New stem cell paper controversy ready to erupt Read More »
When I asked the readers of this blog what they felt was the biggest stem cell story of 2014 in a poll, they overwhelmingly picked the STAP cell scandal. For background on STAP you can toggle through the many STAP cell pieces on this blog here, see a STAP timeline, and a STAP image gallery. Basically,
STAP cells Voted as the Stem Cell Story of the Year for 2014 Read More »
The STAP cell mess that began in January of this year has in some ways quieted down. In a broader sense, I believe that STAP is now and will be in the future viewed as a scandal that revealed some less than ideal aspects to the world of biomedical science and publishing. Where does this
STAP Cell Update: STAP-like paper, Real Origin of STAP cells Read More »