"Acidic" stem cells: another fiasco
Japanese scientists have not confirmed the method of creating stem cells
At the end of January, a group of scientists from the United States and Japan, led by 30-year-old Obokata, published an article in the journal Nature in which they claimed that it was possible to turn ordinary cells into stem cells without interfering with their genetic code by exposing them to acid. It became a sensation in the scientific world. However, immediately after the article appeared, a number of scientists drew attention to some inaccuracies in the study. No scientist has been able to repeat the results of Obokat and her colleagues. The RIKEN Institute has appointed its own investigation, as a result of which it came to the conclusion that the research data contains forgeries and inaccuracies. In April, at a press conference, Obokata said that the cells exist and she managed to create them using her method more than 200 times, but acknowledged the existence of inaccuracies in the article. In June, she agreed to withdraw her article from Nature. In August, one of the co-authors of the study, one of the leading scientists of the RIKEN Institute, 52-year-old Yoshiki Sasai committed suicide.
The Institute invited Obokata to repeat the experiments in the laboratory, under round-the-clock video surveillance, and present the results by the end of November. However, so far, attempts to create STAP cells by acting with acid on ordinary cells have not yielded results.
The institute is expected to officially announce the results of the study at a press conference on Friday. According to sources, Obokata will not be present at the press conference.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru18.12.2014