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Japanese researcher's death highlights problems in dealing with scientific misconduct

10 hours ago by Michael Eisen, The Conversation Yoshiki Sasai was a leading stem-cell scientist in Japan. Credit: EPA

In 1987, my father, a scientist at the US National Institute of Health, killed himself after a member of his lab committed scientific fraud and he got caught up in the investigation. So I found the news that Yoshiki Sasai, a Japanese stem-cell scientist, had allegedly committed suicide in the wake of the STAP controversy deeply disturbing.

The STAP controversy began in January over two papers published in the journal Nature. In them, researchers claimed to have developed a simple method of creating embryonic-like stem cells, called STAP (or stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency). The claim, if true, would have given stem-cell research a big boost. But, within months, problems with the papers were spotted and the researchers' institute deemed that the lead author Haruko Obokata was guilty of scientific misconduct.

Sasai, one of the leading stem-cell researchers in Japan, was a co-author on both the papers, which have now been retracted from Nature. He was, however, cleared of any charges of misconduct.

Neither was my father involved in fraud. But as one of the senior scientists on the research project, my father bore the brunt of institutional criticism. And he seemed to have been far more disturbed by it than the people who were found guilty of the fraud.

It is hard for me not to place at least part of the blame for my father's death on the way the scientific community responds to scientific misconduct.

Obviously, fraud is a terrible thing. Nothing provides as deep an existential threat to the scientific enterprise than making up data. But as bad as it is, there is something deeply ugly about the way the scientific community responds to misconduct.

We need to deal swiftly with fraud when it is identified. But time after time I have watched not only the accused, but everyone around them, be treated with such sanctimonious disdain.

Imagine what it must be like to have devoted your life to science, and then to discover that someone in your midst someone you have some role in supervising has committed the ultimate scientific sin. That itself must be disturbing enough. Indeed I remember how upset my father was as he was trying to prove that fraud had taken place. But then imagine what it must feel like to all of a sudden become the focal point for scrutiny to experience your colleagues and your field casting you aside. It must feel like your whole world is collapsing around you, and not everybody has the mental strength to deal with that.

We are all so confident this could never happen to us, that it must be that somebody in a position of power was lax, or that the environment was flawed. It is there in the institutional response. And it is there in the whispers. I still remember how the faculty in my graduate department at the California Institute of Technology talked about David Baltimore when Thereza Imanishi-Kari, a researcher with whom Baltimore had published a paper in the journal Cell, was accused of scientific fraud. (Imanishi-Kari was eventually deemed not guilty.)

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Japanese researcher's death highlights problems in dealing with scientific misconduct

After Mom Saved By Stem Cell Transplant, Son Donates His Own

CBS Chicago (con't)

Affordable Care Act Updates: CBSChicago.com/ACA

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CHICAGO (CBS) A Barrington womans son was inspired to pay it forward after she was given the gift of life

WBBM Newsradios Regine Schlesinger reports Joanne Sullivan received a life-saving stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor in Germany two-and-a-half years ago, after she was diagnosed with myelofibrosis, a form of bone marrow cancer.

I just feel terrific, she said.

The gift motivated her three sons to sign up with a registry for potential bone marrow and stem cell donors.

On Joannes birthday, her youngest son, Bryant, donated his stem cells to someone else.

It was the best birthday gift, I think, to have given her, he said.

Joannes transplant surgeon, Dr. Mrinal Patnaik, said 24 million people worldwide have registered for the transplant list, but he said thats only a drop in the bucket.

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After Mom Saved By Stem Cell Transplant, Son Donates His Own

Weakness of leukaemic stem cells discovered

05.08.2014 - (idw) Goethe-Universitt Frankfurt am Main

Only one out of every two adult patients survive acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). It is assumed that leukaemic stem cells, which cannot be completely eliminated during treatment, are the origin of relapse. Now a team of Frankfurt-based researchers has discovered, that these cells do have a weakness: 5-LO inhibitors eliminate cells in culture and mouse models. FRANKFURT. Despite improved therapy, only one out of every two adult patients survive acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The mean survival time for this disease, which predominantly occurs in the elderly, is less than a year for patients over 65 years. It is assumed that leukaemic stem cells, which cannot be completely eliminated during treatment, are the origin of relapse. However, as has been discovered by a team of Frankfurt-based researchers, these cells do have a weakness: In the current edition of the high impact journal "Cancer Research", they report that the enzyme 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) plays a significant role in the survival of leukaemic AML stem cells.

5-LO is known for its role in inflammatory diseases like asthma. A team led by Dr. Marin Ruthardt from the Haematology Department of the Medical Clinic II and Dr. Jessica Roos, Prof. Diester Steinhilber and Prof. Thorsten Jrgen Maier from the Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry showed that the leukaemic stem cells in a subgroup of AML could be selectively and efficiently attacked by 5-LO inhibitors. This was demonstrable in cell culture models as well as in leukaemia mouse models.

"These results provide the basis for the potential implementation of 5-LO-inhibitors as stem cell therapeutic agents for a sustained AML cure, although this must be investigated further in preclinical and clinical studies in humans," explains Dr. Ruthardt. "In addition, there are plans for further molecular biological studies with the objective of understanding exactly how the 5-LO inhibitors act on the leukaemic cells", Prof. Maier continued.

Information PD Dr. Martin Ruthardt, Haematology/Medical Clinic II, Tel. +49/ 69/63015338, email: ruthardt@em.uni-frankfurt.de or Prof. Dr. Thorsten Jrgen Maier, Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Riedberg Campus, Tel.: +49/69/7982-934, email: maier@pharmchem.uni-frankfurt.de.

The Goethe University is an institution with particularly strong research capabilities based in the European financial metropolis of Frankfurt. It celebrates its 100th year of existence in 2014. The university was founded in 1914 through private means from liberally-orientated citizens of Frankfurt and has devoted itself to fulfilling its motto "Science for the Society" in its research and teaching activity right up to the present day. Many of the founding donors were of Jewish origin. During the last 100 years, the pioneering services offered by the Goethe University have impacted the fields of social, societal and economic sciences, chemistry, quantum physics, neurological research and labour law. On January 1st, 2008, it achieved an exceptional degree of independence as it returned to its historical roots as a privately funded university. Today it is one of the ten universities that are most successful in obtaining external research funding and one of the three largest universities in Germany with centres of excellence in medicine, life sciences and humanities.

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Weakness of leukaemic stem cells discovered

Weakness of leukemic stem cells discovered

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

4-Aug-2014

Contact: Anke Sauter 49-069-798-12498 Goethe University Frankfurt

FRANKFURT. Despite improved therapy, only one out of every two adult patients survive acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The mean survival time for this disease, which predominantly occurs in the elderly, is less than a year for patients over 65 years. It is assumed that leukaemic stem cells, which cannot be completely eliminated during treatment, are the origin of relapse. However, as has been discovered by a team of Frankfurt-based researchers, these cells do have a weakness: In the current edition of the high impact journal "Cancer Research", they report that the enzyme 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO) plays a significant role in the survival of leukaemic AML stem cells.

5-LO is known for its role in inflammatory diseases like asthma. A team led by Dr. Marin Ruthardt from the Haematology Department of the Medical Clinic II and Dr. Jessica Roos, Prof. Diester Steinhilber and Prof. Thorsten Jrgen Maier from the Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry showed that the leukaemic stem cells in a subgroup of AML could be selectively and efficiently attacked by 5-LO inhibitors. This was demonstrable in cell culture models as well as in leukaemia mouse models.

"These results provide the basis for the potential implementation of 5-LO-inhibitors as stem cell therapeutic agents for a sustained AML cure, although this must be investigated further in preclinical and clinical studies in humans," explains Dr. Ruthardt. "In addition, there are plans for further molecular biological studies with the objective of understanding exactly how the 5-LO inhibitors act on the leukaemic cells." Prof. Maier continued.

###

Publication:

Roos et al.: 5-lipoxygenase is a candidate target for therapeutic management of stem cell-like cells in acute myeloid leukemia, in Cancer Research Volume (2014), Published OnlineFirst July 31, 2014; doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-13-3012

Information PD Dr. Martin Ruthardt, Haematology/Medical Clinic II, Tel. +49/ 69/6301-5338, email: ruthardt@em.uni-frankfurt.de or Prof. Dr. Thorsten Jrgen Maier, Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Riedberg Campus, Tel.: +49/69/7982-934, email: maier@pharmchem.uni-frankfurt.de.

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Weakness of leukemic stem cells discovered

Growing human GI cells may lead to personalized treatments

A method of growing human cells from tissue removed from a patient's gastrointestinal (GI) tract eventually may help scientists develop tailor-made therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and other GI conditions.

Reporting online recently in the journal Gut, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said they have made cell lines from individual patients in as little as two weeks. They have created more than 65 such cell lines using tissue from 47 patients who had routine endoscopic screening procedures, such as colonoscopies. A cell line is a population of cells in culture with the same genetic makeup.

The scientists said the cell lines can help them understand the underlying problems in the GI tracts of individual patients and be used to test new treatments.

"While it has been technically possible to isolate intestinal epithelial stem cells from patients, it has been challenging to use the material in ways that would benefit them on an individual basis," said co-senior investigator Thaddeus S. Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, a professor of pathology and immunology. "This study advances the field in that we have developed new methods that allow for the rapid expansion of intestinal epithelial stem cells in culture. That breaks a bottleneck and allows us to develop new ways to test drug and environmental interactions in specific patients."

To grow the human cells, the researchers adapted a system used to grow intestinal epithelial stem cells in mice. In the GI tract, epithelial cells line the inner surface of the esophagus, stomach and intestines.

"An additional important feature of this system is that we can isolate stem cell lines from intestinal biopsies," said first author Kelli L. VanDussen, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Stappenbeck's laboratory. "These biopsies are very small tissue fragments that are routinely collected by a gastroenterologist during endoscopy procedures. We have refined this technique, so we have nearly 100 percent success in creating cell lines from individual patient biopsies."

The researchers developed an experimental system that created high levels of critical factors to isolate and expand intestinal epithelial stem cells, including a signaling protein called Wnt and a related protein called R-spondin, which enhances the Wnt signal. They also exposed the cells to a protein called Noggin, which prevented the cells from differentiating into other cell types that live in the GI tract.

After growing the intestinal cell lines, the investigators collaborated with Phillip I. Tarr, MD, the Melvin E. Carnahan Professor of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, to conduct experiments and see how the cells interacted with bacterial pathogens like E. coli.

This showed that pathogenic strains of E. coli attached to intestinal epithelial cells. That attachment is thought to be the critical step in stimulating disease. The investigators said the experimental system they created should lead to new methods to uncover therapies for treating bacterial infections of the intestine.

"In the past, the only really robust method for studying GI epithelial cells was to use cancer cell lines," said co-senior investigator Matthew A. Ciorba, MD, a gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine. "However, cancer cells behave differently than the noncancerous GI epithelium, which is affected in patients with conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. This technique now allows us to study cells identical to the ones that live in a patient's GI tract. Plus, we can grow the cell lines quickly enough that it should be possible to develop a personalized approach to understanding a patient's disease and to tailor treatment based on a patient's underlying problem."

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Growing human GI cells may lead to personalized treatments

BioEden fights the financial cost of stem cell banking by bringing their specialist service to the people for just 5 …

(PRWEB UK) 7 August 2014

BioEden the specialist tooth stem cell bank stands by its pledge to make personalised stem cell therapy an affordable reality by launching Access Membership at just 5 per month.

With stem cell therapy holding the promise of longer and better lives in the future, the cost and the ease of finding a stem cell match has been an issue, given that the cost of private stem cell banking requires an initial cash outlay of up to 4000.

Not any more.

BioEden the leading specialist tooth stem cell bank, has added Access Membership to parents finding themselves financially unable to bank their child's cells for future use. "It doesnt sit well with us that a parent could be unable to access what could be a life saving service for their child, for financial reasons," said Group CEO Mr Tony Veverka.

Parents can access the stem cell banking service for just 5 per month, and can become a member of the plan as soon as the baby is born. To date the option for stem cell banking at birth has been umbilical cord blood banking, an invasive process which provides haemopoetic stem cell banking at a cost.

Now parents have the option to choose tooth stem cell banking or to add this to cord blood banking at a very low monthly cost.

Tooth stem cells have considerable advantages over cord blood cells;

And now, thanks to BioEden, cost doesnt have to be a barrier.

So how can 5 a month give access to such a specialist service?

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BioEden fights the financial cost of stem cell banking by bringing their specialist service to the people for just 5 ...

Edu Manzano considering stem-cell treatment for his back problem

Kasalukuyan daw uma-attend si Edu Manzano ng mga seminar tungkol sa stem cell therapy.

Nagbabalak kasi ang TV host na sumailalim sa nasabing treatment.

Subalit hindi 'tulad ng iba, kung saan pag-iwas sa mabilisang pagtanda ang dahilan, gagawin daw ito ni Edu para sa kanyang problema sa likod.

Sa panayam ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at ibang reporters kanina, August 7, sinabi ni Edu, In my case, its for my back because of the accidents that Ive suffered during mga stunts in my 30 years in the movie.

Nagbigay rin siya ng ilang patunay na hindi lamang para sa vanity ang stem-cell treatment.

Aniya, Actually, people are talking about stem cells now.

But there are still misconceptions about stem cells.

You know, its not always about youth.

"Ive seen a friend who had a heart attack.

I have a friend who has failing vision, declared legally blind, in-inject talaga sa mata, nakakakita na siya, nagmamaneho na siya.

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Edu Manzano considering stem-cell treatment for his back problem

Edu Manzano sa planong kasalan nina Luis at Angel: 'I dont think they need any pressure'

Subalit hindi 'tulad ng iba, kung saan pag-iwas sa mabilisang pagtanda ang dahilan, gagawin daw ito ni Edu para sa kanyang problema sa likod.

Sa panayam ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) at ibang reporters nitong Huwebes, August 7, sinabi ni Edu, In my case, its for my back because of the accidents that Ive suffered during mga stunts in my 30 years in the movie.

Nagbigay rin siya ng ilang patunay na hindi lamang para sa vanity ang stem-cell treatment.

Aniya, Actually, people are talking about stem cells now.

But there are still misconceptions about stem cells.

You know, its not always about youth.

"Ive seen a friend who had a heart attack.

I have a friend who has failing vision, declared legally blind, in-inject talaga sa mata, nakakakita na siya, nagmamaneho na siya.

Unlike what people see about stem cell, instead of retaining your youthful look, it actually addresses certain ailments.

Ilan sa mga personalidad na umaming sumailalim na sa stem cell treatment ay ang aktres na si Lorna Tolentino, ang StarTalk host na si Lolit Solis, at si Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. GIVING FREEDOM TO HIS CHILDREN. Samantala, sinabi ni Edu na dahil sa pagbabago niya ng lifestyle, mas kaya na niya ngayong makipagsabayan sa kanyang mga anak na sina Luis, Addie, at Enzo.

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Edu Manzano sa planong kasalan nina Luis at Angel: 'I dont think they need any pressure'

STAP stem cell controversy ends in suicide for Japanese scientist

A Japanese scientist who played an instrumental role in two discredited studies about a new type of stem cells hanged himself at his research institute in Kobe, according to media reports there.

Yoshiki Sasai, a deputy director of the RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, left behind five apparent suicide notes, Japan Times reported Tuesday.

I am overcome with grief at this terrible news, RIKEN President Ryoji Noyori said in a statement released Tuesday. The scientific world has lost a talented and dedicated researcher, who earned our deep respect for the advanced research he carried out over many years. I would like to express my deepest condolences to Dr. Sasais family and colleagues.

Sasai was a coauthor on two papers published in Nature that purported to offer a quick and simple way of making highly versatile stem cells. Instead of destroying embryos or tinkering with their DNA, the scientists said they produced their flexible cells by stressing them out in an acid bath for 30 minutes and then spinning them in a centrifuge for 5 minutes.

At first, scientists hailed the creation of the so-called stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency, or STAP, stem cells. But within days, serious questions arose about the researchers methods, leading to a RIKEN investigation that found several instances of scientific misconduct on that part of study leader Haruko Obokata, a rising scientist at RIKEN.

Both studies were retracted in July.

Sasai was Obokatas supervisor and was supposed to oversee her writing, Japan Times reported. RIKEN faulted Sasai for failing to check the data used in the study and for providing weak oversight that allowed Obokata to submit a manuscript with manipulated images and other serious problems.

"Research misconduct occurred due to a young researcher's lack of experience and awareness of the importance of research ethics, the lack of leadership among researchers to help her, and a lack of mutual verification among groups," Noyori said when RIKEN announced the results of its investigation in April.

Sasai appeared to take these criticisms to heart. He offered a very contrite statement when the studies were retracted.

As a researcher, I am deeply ashamed of the fact that two papers of which I was an author were found to contain multiple errors and, as a result, had to be retracted, he wrote. I also deeply regret the fact that as a coauthor, I was not able to identify these errors beforehand and to exercise my leadership to prevent this regrettable situation, including misconduct, from occurring. I apologize wholeheartedly for the confusion and disappointment that this situation has caused.

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STAP stem cell controversy ends in suicide for Japanese scientist