MORE DOUBTS ABOUT ADULT STEM CELL PAPER
Even more questions are being asked about a high-profile paper in Nature which claimed that a type of adult stem cell was as versatile as human embryonic stem cells. In June 2002 Catherine Verfaillie, of the University of Minnesota, characterised multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPCs) which seemed to be able to grow into most of the body’s tissues. However, her results were difficult to reproduce and were greeted with much scepticism amongst her colleagues.
Digging through Verfaillie’s data in several papers, New Scientist discovered that some of the images in her ground-breaking paper were flawed. Now its investigative journalists have pushed the lode of errors even deeper by studying a patent relating to MAPCs granted to a company in Cleveland, Athersys. Once again, images had been modified and used to support different conclusions. Investigations are continuing, but it appears possible that one of Verfaillie’s junior colleagues may have fudged results. Investigations are continuing.
- How long can you put off seeing the doctor because of lockdowns? - December 3, 2021
- House of Lords debates assisted suicide—again - October 28, 2021
- Spanish government tries to restrict conscientious objection - October 28, 2021
More Stories
Mortality rates for American kids are rising for the first time in 50 years
US President Joe Biden is so concerned about the future of American children that he inserted a mandate for affordable...
Will Pope Francis be composted?
Will Pope Francis be composted instead of buried in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome with his predecessors? It’s unlikely. But...
The virtues and the vices of the outrageous
A Norwegian bioethicist, Anna Smajdor, recently set out a case for “Whole Body Gestational Donation” – using the wombs of...
More than 200 people have been treated with experimental CRISPR therapies
Scientists believe that CRISPR gene editing technologies will transform medicine. But how many people have been treated so far? According...
Asia-Pacific IVF market could reach US$46 billion by 2031
According to a market survey by Allied Market Research, IVF is booming in the Asia-Pacific region. The market size was...
Third global summit on human genome editing: Moving on after the He experiment
The much anticipated Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing was held in London earlier this month to explore the...