Stem Cell Research Papers Are Retracted

Two scientific papers that initially electrified biologists by describing an easy way to make stem cells were retracted on Wednesday by the journal that published them after they were found to be riddled with “critical errors.”

The papers, published in Nature in January, were a source of pride in Japan, where much of the research had been done in the government-backed Riken Center for Developmental Biology. The lead scientist, Haruko Obokata, became an instant celebrity.

But pride soon turned to embarrassment as one error after another came to light, and an internal investigation by Riken concluded that Ms. Obokata had misrepresented or altered images.

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