Apology and Objection

She looked fragile, tearful, depressed, but rigid on her achievement. A research leader of the Institute for Science and Chemistry, or Riken, Haruko Obokata, held a press conference on her disputed finding on stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency (STAP) cells on Wednesday. She stressed her intention not to withdraw her thesis on the cell against Riken’s accusation on her fabrication of research data. Focusing on the dispute inside academic community, there still remained two questions: Does STAP cell exist, and who are those behind her?

At the beginning of the conference, Obokata apologized to the public of inviting confusions and skepticisms on the research due to her immatureness as a scientist. Having said that, she told that her fabrication of data did not affect the conclusion of her research, which introduced the existence of STAP cells, declaring “STAP cell is truth.” On a question of how to make it, she revealed that she had been successful for over two hundred times.

Riken had concluded that there were fabrication and manipulation of data on her research paper last month. Obokata submitted a dispute against it, claiming that Riken’s investigation was not sufficient. She refused to withdrawal demanded by her co-researcher, and showed her hope to continue her research. Riken is discussing whether it will review its investigation.

Most news reports found her rebuttal as insufficient. Although she regretted that her finding of STAP cell would be denied not by scientific verification, but by her careless mistakes, she did not present any new persuasive reason that the cell actually exists. Asked about who was successful in creating STAP cells, she refused to name the person. Most researchers admitted that they could not do that. It is her special and exclusive skill so far.

As long as watching her argument, it is unlikely that she was doing that only for defending herself. A weekly gossip magazine reported her words, “Big power is moving behind me.” It is fair to say that there are two kinds of powers behind her: who are willing to approve her achievement and who definitely want to deny STAP cells. Obokata and Riken are the representatives of each of them.

Politics observes it from the front row. “It’s a day of Watanabe today, and will be of Obokata tomorrow,” told Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, on Tuesday, citing his political supporter in money scandal leading Your Party. He just welcomed the shift of public eyes from politics to academic battlefield.