Nature Retracts Figure in Highly Cited MAPCs Study

As is being reported, well, everywhere, Nature has made the decision, after review, to retract a figure used in a highly cited 2002 study on adult stem cells in (mouse) bone marrow. In this study, the researchers seemed able to coax those multipotent adult progenitor cells to form other tissues in the body. At the time, this was hailed as a major break through in adult stem cell research, and seemed promising for stem cell therapy, but the results have been difficult to replicate. And while the figure has been retracted, the paper has not.

Meanwhile, Catherine Verfaillie and her coauthors are now having other papers investigated by the New Scientist, who raised the initial concerns over the first image. Full details can be read here.

-Kelly Hills