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Investigators at the Japanese research institute RIKEN have failed to create STAP (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) cells in the experiments they’ve conducted thus far.
However, the group plans to continue its attempts to replicate the STAP cell phenomenon—inducing pluripotency in somatic cells by exposing them to stress—until next March.
So far, the group has failed to create STAP cells by exposing cells from newborn C57BL/6 mice to a low-pH environment.
Going forward, the researchers plan to conduct their experiments in another mouse strain. They also intend to alter the methods of stressing the cells.
RIKEN investigator Haruko Obokata, PhD, and her colleagues initially reported the STAP cell phenomenon in an article and a letter published in Nature last January.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began to question the validity of the research. They voiced concerns about published images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation, ultimately concluding that Dr Obokata was guilty of misconduct, and some of her colleagues—including the recently deceased Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD—were guilty of negligence.
RIKEN also called for the papers to be retracted, and, in July, they were.
Throughout these proceedings, Dr Obokata insisted the STAP cell phenomenon is real. To investigate this claim, RIKEN organized a group of researchers to recreate Dr Obokata’s experiments.
The group has performed 22 experiments using different types of stress and cells from different tissues in C57BL/6 mice, but they have not reproduced the STAP cell phenomenon described in the Nature papers. (A report on these attempts is available in Japanese.)
Still, the investigators are continuing with their experiments and hope to have definitive results by March. 
Investigators at the Japanese research institute RIKEN have failed to create STAP (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) cells in the experiments they’ve conducted thus far.
However, the group plans to continue its attempts to replicate the STAP cell phenomenon—inducing pluripotency in somatic cells by exposing them to stress—until next March.
So far, the group has failed to create STAP cells by exposing cells from newborn C57BL/6 mice to a low-pH environment.
Going forward, the researchers plan to conduct their experiments in another mouse strain. They also intend to alter the methods of stressing the cells.
RIKEN investigator Haruko Obokata, PhD, and her colleagues initially reported the STAP cell phenomenon in an article and a letter published in Nature last January.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began to question the validity of the research. They voiced concerns about published images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation, ultimately concluding that Dr Obokata was guilty of misconduct, and some of her colleagues—including the recently deceased Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD—were guilty of negligence.
RIKEN also called for the papers to be retracted, and, in July, they were.
Throughout these proceedings, Dr Obokata insisted the STAP cell phenomenon is real. To investigate this claim, RIKEN organized a group of researchers to recreate Dr Obokata’s experiments.
The group has performed 22 experiments using different types of stress and cells from different tissues in C57BL/6 mice, but they have not reproduced the STAP cell phenomenon described in the Nature papers. (A report on these attempts is available in Japanese.)
Still, the investigators are continuing with their experiments and hope to have definitive results by March.
Investigators at the Japanese research institute RIKEN have failed to create STAP (stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency) cells in the experiments they’ve conducted thus far.
However, the group plans to continue its attempts to replicate the STAP cell phenomenon—inducing pluripotency in somatic cells by exposing them to stress—until next March.
So far, the group has failed to create STAP cells by exposing cells from newborn C57BL/6 mice to a low-pH environment.
Going forward, the researchers plan to conduct their experiments in another mouse strain. They also intend to alter the methods of stressing the cells.
RIKEN investigator Haruko Obokata, PhD, and her colleagues initially reported the STAP cell phenomenon in an article and a letter published in Nature last January.
Not long after the papers were published, members of the scientific community began to question the validity of the research. They voiced concerns about published images, possible plagiarism, and an inability to replicate the experiments described.
So RIKEN launched an investigation, ultimately concluding that Dr Obokata was guilty of misconduct, and some of her colleagues—including the recently deceased Yoshiki Sasai, MD, PhD—were guilty of negligence.
RIKEN also called for the papers to be retracted, and, in July, they were.
Throughout these proceedings, Dr Obokata insisted the STAP cell phenomenon is real. To investigate this claim, RIKEN organized a group of researchers to recreate Dr Obokata’s experiments.
The group has performed 22 experiments using different types of stress and cells from different tissues in C57BL/6 mice, but they have not reproduced the STAP cell phenomenon described in the Nature papers. (A report on these attempts is available in Japanese.)
Still, the investigators are continuing with their experiments and hope to have definitive results by March.