Haruko Obokata published two papers in January 2014 that described how regular blood cells could be turned into pluripotent stem cells.
At the time, this was a coup it dramatically simplified a previously complicated process and opened up new vistas of medical and biological research, while neatly sidestepping the bioethical considerations of using human embryos to harvest stem cells.
Moreover, the process for this was straightforward, and involved applying a weak acid solution or mechanical pressure oddly similar to how you'd clean a rust stain off a knife.
Within a few days, scientists noticed some of the images in the paper were irregular. And a broader skepticism began. Could it really be that simple?
As the experiments were simple and the biologists were curious, attempts to replicate the papers' findings began immediately. They failed. By February, Obokata's institute had launched an investigation. By March, some of the paper's co-authors were disavowing the methods. By July, the papers were retracted.
While the papers were clearly unreliable, there was no clarity on the center of the problem. Had the authors mislabelled a sample? Did they discover a method that worked once but was inherently unreliable?
Had they simply made up the data? It took years longer, but the scientific community got an approximate answer when further related papers by Obokata were also retracted for image manipulation, data irregularities, and other problematic issues.
The whole episode was a sterling example of science correcting itself. An important result was published, it was doubted, it was tested, investigated, and found wanting and then it was retracted.
This is how we might hope the process of organized skepticism would always work. But, it doesn't.
In the vast majority of scientific work, it is incredibly rare for other scientists to even notice irregularities in the first place, let alone marshal the global forces of empiricism to do something about them. The underlying assumption within academic peer review is that fraud is sufficiently rare or unimportant as to be unworthy of a dedicated detection mechanism.
Most scientists assume they will never come across a single case of fraud in their careers, and so even the thought of checking calculations in reviewable papers, re-running analyses, or checking if experimental protocols were properly deployed is deemed unnecessary.
Worse, the accompanying raw data and analytical code often needed to forensically analyze a paper are not routinely published, and performing this kind of stringent review is often considered to be a hostile act, the kind of drudge work reserved only for the deeply motivated or the congenitally disrespectful.
Everyone is busy with their own work, so what kind of grinch would go to such extremes to invalidate someone else's?
Which brings us neatly to ivermectin, an anti-parasitic drug trialed as a treatment for COVID-19 after lab-bench studies early in 2020 showed it was potentially beneficial.
It rose in popularity sharply after a published-then-withdrawn analysis by the Surgisphere group showed a huge reduction in death rates for people who take it, triggering a massive wave of use for the drug across the globe.
More recently, the evidence for ivermectin's efficacy relied very substantially on a single piece of research, which was preprinted (that is, published without peer review) in November 2020.
This study, drawn from a large cohort of patients and reporting a strong treatment effect, was popular: read over 100,000 times, cited by dozens of academic papers, and included in at least two meta-analytic models that showed ivermectin to be, as the authors claimed, a "wonder drug" for COVID-19.
It is no exaggeration to say that this one paper caused thousands if not millions of people to get ivermectin to treat and/or prevent COVID-19.
A few days ago, the study was retracted amid accusations of fraud and plagiarism. A masters student who had been assigned to read the paper as part of his degree noticed that the entire introduction appeared to be copied from earlier scientific papers, and further analysis revealed that the study's datasheet posted online by the authors contained obvious irregularities.
It is hard to overstate how monumental a failing this is for the scientific community. We proud guardians of knowledge accepted at face value a piece of research that was so filled with holes that it only took a medical student a few hours to entirely dismantle.
The seriousness accorded to the results was in direct contrast to the quality of the study. The authors reported incorrect statistical tests at multiple points, standard deviations that were extremely implausible, and a truly eye-watering degree of positive efficacy the last time the medical community found a '90 percent benefit' for a drug on a disease, it was the use of antiretroviral medication to treat people dying of AIDS.
Yet, no-one noticed. For the better part of a year, serious, respected researchers included this study in their reviews, medical doctors used it as evidence to treat their patients, and governments acknowledged its conclusions in public health policy.
No-one spent the 5 minutes required to download the data file that the authors had uploaded online and notice that it reported numerous deaths happening before the study had even begun. No one copy-and-pasted phrases from the introduction into Google, which is all it takes to notice just how much of it is identical to already-published papers.
This inattention and inaction perpetuated the saga when we remain studiously disinterested in the problem, we also don't know how much scientific fraud there is, or where it can be readily located or identified, and consequently make no robust plans to address or ameliorate its effects.
A recent editorial in the British Medical Journal argued that it might be time to change our basic perspective on health research, and assume that health research is fraudulent until proven otherwise.
That is to say, not to assume that all researchers are dishonest, but to begin the receipt of new information in health research from a categorically different baseline level of skepticism as opposed to blind trust.
This might sound extreme, but if the alternative is accepting that occasionally millions of people will receive medications based on unvetted research that is later withdrawn entirely, it may actually be a very small price to pay.
James Heathersis the CSO of Cipher Skin and a scientific integrity researcher.
Gideon Meyerowitz-Katz is an epidemiologist working in chronic disease in Sydney, Australia. He writes a regular health blog covering science communication, public health, and what that new study you've read about actually means.
Opinions expressed in this article don't necessarily reflect the views of ScienceAlert editorial staff.
Go here to see the original:
Ivermectin COVID-19 Scandal Shows How Vulnerable Science Is to Fraud - ScienceAlert
- Secret to eternal youth? John Cleese extols virtues of stem cell treatment - The Guardian - April 26th, 2024
- Cabinet approves two bills on regenerative medicine - - April 26th, 2024
- Parental Fury After Stem Cell Bank Ruins Thousands of Samples in Singapore - Bloomberg - April 24th, 2024
- Pressure in the womb may influence facial development - Phys.org - April 24th, 2024
- Circadian regulation of cancer stem cells and the tumor microenvironment during metastasis - Nature.com - April 24th, 2024
- Shinobi strikes deal with electronics powerhouse Panasonic to create new cell therapy manufacturing platform - FiercePharma - April 19th, 2024
- The Stem Cells Market expected to grow at the value of USD 28.1 Billion by 2030 with a 10.48% CAGR. - WhaTech - April 19th, 2024
- Scientists produce in vitro model of cell differentiation during early facial development - Phys.org - April 19th, 2024
- Somite: AI-Based Stem Cell Therapy Company Closes $5.3 Million In Funding - Pulse 2.0 - April 19th, 2024
- Paralyzed man who can walk again shows potential benefit of stem cell therapy - ABC News - April 5th, 2024
- Stem Cells Market Innovations Investigated by Industry Overview and Global Forecast - WhaTech - April 5th, 2024
- New tool provides researchers with improved understanding of stem cell aging in the brain - University of Wisconsin-Madison - April 1st, 2024
- The PTM profiling of CTCF reveals the regulation of 3D chromatin structure by O-GlcNAcylation - Nature.com - April 1st, 2024
- Signatures of Autofluorescence Used To Study Stem Cells Aging in the Brain - Technology Networks - March 30th, 2024
- Two decades of embryonic stem cells: a historical overview - March 28th, 2024
- Researchers at Phoenix Children's First in the World to Produce Mouse Lungs in Rats - The Malaysian Reserve - March 26th, 2024
- Unlocking the mysteries of early human development through blastoid models - News-Medical.Net - March 24th, 2024
- Unlocking the Secrets of Aging: Researchers Reveal Key to Intestinal Balance - SciTechDaily - March 17th, 2024
- Human stem-cell-based therapy for Parkinson's disease proven safe PET - BioNews - March 13th, 2024
- Exploring the inner workings of stem cells: When location changes the message - Phys.org - March 9th, 2024
- Confronting IVF: Human Embryos Are Persons With a Right to Life - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence - March 7th, 2024
- When Location Changes the Message - UConn Today - University of Connecticut - March 7th, 2024
- Distinct pathways drive anterior hypoblast specification in the implanting human embryo - Nature.com - March 6th, 2024
- In light of the Alabama court ruling, a look at the science of IVF : Short Wave - NPR - March 3rd, 2024
- The weird way Alabamas embryo ruling takes on artificial wombs - MIT Technology Review - February 25th, 2024
- Alabama's biggest hospital to suspend transfer of embryos after court ruling - ABC News - February 24th, 2024
- Stem Cells: FAQs Answered for Patients and Caregivers - Corporate Wellness Magazine - February 22nd, 2024
- Charles River Collaborates with Pluristyx, Expanding its Portfolio of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells - Business Wire - February 22nd, 2024
- Breakthrough Stem Cell Treatments for Stroke Recovery: What You Need to Know - Medical Tourism Magazine - February 20th, 2024
- Global Cell Isolation Market Size To Worth USD 13.4 Billion By 2033 | CAGR of 12.5% - Yahoo Finance - February 20th, 2024
- The Mechanism of Positional Cues in Embryonic Development and Signaling Molecules in Cell Fate - Medriva - February 18th, 2024
- Regeneration of the Retina Using Pluripotent Stem Cells: A Comprehensive Review - Cureus - February 5th, 2024
- CRISPR/Cas9-mediated deletion of a GA-repeat in human GPM6B leads to disruption of neural cell differentiation from ... - Nature.com - January 29th, 2024
- Global Human Embryonic Stem Cell Market Analysis 2024-2034: A Deep Dive into Applications, End-users, and ... - GlobeNewswire - January 26th, 2024
- No, Rep. Steve Scalise Didn't Vote Against Stem Cell Research From Which He Is Now Benefiting - Yahoo News - January 14th, 2024
- Clinical applications of stem cell-derived exosomes | Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy - Nature.com - January 12th, 2024
- How Stem Cell Embryo Models Won Method of the Year - Technology Networks - January 12th, 2024
- Changing the public perception of human embryology - ESHRE - January 11th, 2024
- How the Human Body Regenerates New Cells Every Year - Laughing Squid - January 4th, 2024
- Lab-grown models of embryos increasingly resemble the real thing | Mint - Mint - January 4th, 2024
- Singapore should ban reproductive applications of synthetic human embryos - BioEdge - January 4th, 2024
- Machine learning-based estimation of spatial gene expression pattern during ESC-derived retinal organoid ... - Nature.com - December 21st, 2023
- The development of embryos may be less shaped by genes than we thought - New Scientist - December 21st, 2023
- Embryonic stem cell - Wikipedia - December 13th, 2023
- Researchers discover a mechanism that controls the identity of stem cells - Phys.org - December 9th, 2023
- 'Fascinating and completely unexpected': Tiny robots fix neurons - FierceBiotech - December 5th, 2023
- Establishment and characterization of matched immortalized human ... - Nature.com - December 5th, 2023
- Proteomic insights into the associations between obesity, lifestyle ... - BMC Medicine - December 5th, 2023
- New therapy can treat rare and hereditary diseases - ScienceNorway - December 5th, 2023
- Scientists Still Can't Be Trusted on Gene Editing - Progressive.org - December 5th, 2023
- Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology and Renowned ... - Yahoo Finance - December 5th, 2023
- 4.4 Million Funding Injection Fuels World-Class Bioscience Research Programme - India Education Diary - December 3rd, 2023
- A two-kinesin mechanism controls neurogenesis in the developing ... - Nature.com - December 3rd, 2023
- What happens when nature and cities collide - CNN - December 3rd, 2023
- Pro-Life This Week: December 1, 2023 | ALL - All.org - December 3rd, 2023
- A look at the international race to create human eggs and sperm in ... - NPR - December 1st, 2023
- Synthetic genetic circuits to uncover the OCT4 trajectories of ... - Science - December 1st, 2023
- Why the Novo Nordisk Foundation is betting big on stem cells - pharmaphorum - November 29th, 2023
- Charity Watchlist Helps Donors Ensure Their Year-End Gifts Don't ... - All.org - November 29th, 2023
- A green glowing monkey has been created in China. What were the ... - Genetic Literacy Project - November 29th, 2023
- Fetal Bovine Serum Market to reach USD 1.26 Bn by 2029, emerging at a CAGR of 5.3 percent according to a ne... - WhaTech Technology and Markets News - November 29th, 2023
- Implications of Gene Therapy in Dentistry and Periodontics: A ... - Cureus - November 27th, 2023
- Study shows how to treat hereditary, rare diseases - ETHealthWorld - November 27th, 2023
- Drugs identified that may reverse brain fog caused by COVID-19 - New Atlas - November 27th, 2023
- The genes that made us truly human may also make us ill - BBC.com - November 25th, 2023
- Therapy to treat rare, hereditary diseases: Study - Hindustan Times - November 25th, 2023
- How the growth of a giant single cell is intertwined with daily self-rhythms - Phys.org - November 25th, 2023
- On this day: Mahmoud Abbas becomes leader of Fatah in 2004 - In-Cyprus - November 25th, 2023
- Evaluation of A-ring hydroxymethylene-amino- triterpenoids as ... - Nature.com - November 25th, 2023
- Disruption of the autism gene and chromatin regulator KDM5A alters ... - Science - November 23rd, 2023
- Scientists Created a Monkey With Two Different Sets of DNA - Smithsonian Magazine - November 23rd, 2023
- Genomic tug of war could boost cancer therapy - Science Daily - November 23rd, 2023
- What are stem cells? Throw light on various types of stem cells and ... - Insights IAS - November 23rd, 2023
- The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation awards $10.5 million to new ... - EurekAlert - November 23rd, 2023
- Daily briefing: Why these PhD scientists went into teaching - Nature.com - November 23rd, 2023
- Innovative Therapy Targets Rare, Hereditary Diseases - Mirage News - November 23rd, 2023
- Scientists uncover "genomic tug of war" that influences ... - News-Medical.Net - November 21st, 2023
- DOT1L is a barrier to histone acetylation during reprogramming to ... - Science - November 21st, 2023
- Tumor microenvironment composition & related therapy in HCC | JHC - Dove Medical Press - November 21st, 2023
- T-Therapeutics raises $59M in series A for T-cell receptors - BioWorld Online - November 19th, 2023
Recent Comments