Flawed Stem Cell Data Withdrawn
It is one of the best-known stem cell papers in the past five years, describing adult cells that seemed to hold the same promise as embryonic stem cells. Now, following inquiries by New Scientist, some of the data contained within the papers is being questioned.
In 2002, a team led by Catherine Verfaillie of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, described “multipotent adult progenitor cells” or MAPCs, isolated from the bone marrow of rodents (Nature, vol 418, p 41). These cells seemed able to develop into most of the body’s tissues.