A RIKEN committee has rejected an appeal by Dr. Haruko Obokata regarding its finding of research misconduct related to two papers in Nature claiming the production of so-called STAP cells and STAP stem cells. Earlier the committee had ruled that Obokata had allegedly engaged in misconduct and that there problems with the research. Obokata appealed […]
RIKEN rejects Obokata appeal on alleged STAP cell misconduct Read More »
A paper has been published reporting that repeated attempts to make so-called “acid bath stem cells” have failed. At the end of January it was claimed in two Nature papers that a mild acid treatment created pluripotent or even totipotent stem cells that that the authors termed “STAP cells” or “STAP stem cells” (collectively referred
Perspectives on Lee Lab F1000 Paper that STAP Cell Method Does Not Work Read More »
Whether STAP cells are real or baloney, much went wrong with the actual STAP cell Nature papers and the research reported in them by Obokata and her co-authors. Who is responsible for these two deeply flawed papers? I’m not sure we have enough information at this time to know definitively how responsibility/blame should be apportioned,
Did Obokata get a fair shake on STAP cell mess? Read More »
Sometimes when we Google things we can find out surprising things about specific topics including the whole STAP cell train wreck. When I recently searched for STAP, here was my reaction: What the heck? A recent Google search for STAP cells yielded these two adjacent, completely contradictory results sourced from two Obokata mentors (see image
Google Shows Us Crazy STAP Cell Dichotomy Read More »
The ultimate fate of the two Nature STAP cell papers remains in troubled limbo. One of the senior STAP cell authors, Dr. Sasai, held a news conference yesterday in Japan that included a call for the papers to be retracted. He was variously quoted as believing in STAP cells or alternatively as just thinking it
Lessons from STAP cell fiasco so far Read More »
Dr. Haruko Obokata held a news conference today in Japan about the STAP cell controversy. It was very painful to watch. I’m a softy so at moments I felt somewhat sad for her as I watched, but as a scientist I have to say the STAP situation has been very bad for the stem cell
Obokata STAP news conference: thoughts, questions & open discussion Read More »
What’s going on with the STAP cell situation now that it is into its third month? It’s getting worse instead of better or clearer, at least in part due to RIKEN’s incomplete investigation. What’s going on with STAP? New RIKEN Press Conference RIKEN reportedly held an odd sort of limited press conference today that TJO
STAP April Update: Super Stressful on All Fronts Read More »
Very small embryonic-like stem cells aka VSELs are reported to be tiny adult stem cells that are pluripotent or non-existent depending on whom you talk to most recently or which paper you just read. These very controversial cells (which I once compared to the Sasquatch) have a wildly fluctuating history with their existence on multiple occasions
Wild History of VSELs Predicts Future of STAP Cells? Read More »
Yesterday was a crazy day for the STAP cell situation. We had RIKEN releasing a scathing internal investigatory report and then some folks in the media got all worked up about a single PCR assay result that Dr. Ken Lee posted on ResearchGate. Some of the reporters/science writers hyped their headlines/articles on this situation as though
Dr. Lee STAP Result, Hyped by Media, in Proper Context Read More »
What next for STAP? Is retraction of the two papers on the near horizon? It has been two months now since Nature published the two papers on STAP cells and STAP stem cells. There has been a storm of controversy surrounding these papers and the claims they made to easily produce the most powerful of
STAP Cell Nature Papers: Cases For & Against Retraction Read More »