Author of stem cell study calls for retraction

Tokyo: One of the authors of a study that was claimed to have discovered a simple way to make stem cells has said that he is no longer sure of his team's conclusions and called for the study to be retracted.

The study, laid out in two papers published by Nature in January, surprised scientists around the world by finding that a simple acid bath might turn cells in the body into multi-purpose stem cells. The new technique could be a quicker and easier source of stem cells than methods now in use, the authors said.

But on Monday Teruhiko Wakayama, a professor of developmental engineering at the University of Yamanashi and one of the study's co-authors, told NHK, Japan's public broadcaster, that a series of concerns raised in recent weeks by researchers around the world had shaken his belief in the study's findings.

"There are too many overall issues that I am not sure about. I am increasingly uncertain," Dr Wakayama told NHK.

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The new technique was developed by researchers at the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology in Kobe, Japan, and at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Haruko Obokata, the 30-year-old lead writer of the study's two papers and a rising star in Japan's scientific community, has become an overnight celebrity here and a symbol of the rising stature of female scientists.

Still, some experts quickly expressed caution, saying more needed to be known about the new approach.

Caution turned to scepticism as researchers reported trouble in replicating the study's results. Some of the photos used in the study were then called into question, as was wording that was found to be similar to that in an article published by different researchers almost a decade ago. Those questions prompted both Riken and Nature to begin separate investigations into the study's integrity last month.

Riken has since released a more detailed description of procedures used in the study. But inconsistencies between those new procedures and the original papers only fuelled confusion and suspicion. Nature has said it is still investigating.

Dr Wakayama said that the numerous questions raised left the authors with little choice but to retract the paper. Verification by independent researchers might also shed light on what went wrong in the study, he said.

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Author of stem cell study calls for retraction