Haruko Obokata published two papers in January 2014 that described how regular blood cells could be turned into pluripotent stem cells. At the time, t

Ivermectin COVID-19 Scandal Shows How Vulnerable Science Is to Fraud

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2021-07-19 17:00:10

Haruko Obokata published two papers in January 2014 that described how regular blood cells could be turned into pluripotent stem cells.

At the time, this was a coup – it dramatically simplified a previously complicated process and opened up new vistas of medical and biological research, while neatly sidestepping the bioethical considerations of using human embryos to harvest stem cells.

Moreover, the process for this was straightforward, and involved applying a weak acid solution or mechanical pressure – oddly similar to how you'd clean a rust stain off a knife.

Within a few days, scientists noticed some of the images in the paper were irregular. And a broader skepticism began. Could it really be that simple?

As the experiments were simple and the biologists were curious, attempts to replicate the papers' findings began immediately. They failed. By February, Obokata's institute had launched an investigation. By March, some of the paper's co-authors were disavowing the methods. By July, the papers were retracted.

While the papers were clearly unreliable, there was no clarity on the center of the problem. Had the authors mislabelled a sample? Did they discover a method that worked once but was inherently unreliable?

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