Nature retracts papers

Nature retracts two high-profile papers that claimed a major advance in the field of stem cells, after questions arise over whether the technique of creating Stimulus-Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency (Stap) cells by dipping skin and blood in acid is genuine. Retraction:

The episode has further highlighted flaws in Nature’s procedures and in the procedures of the institutions that publish with us […] All co-authors of both papers have finally concluded that they cannot stand behind the papers, and hve decided to retract them.

The papers themselves have now been clearly watermarked to highlight their retracted status, but will remain hosted on Nature’s website, as is consistent with our retraction policy. (In our opinion, to take down retracted papers from journal websites amounts to an attempt to rewrite history, and makes life needlessly difficult for those wishing to learn from such episodes.)