The STAP cell fiasco, which apparently came to a conclusion last week, has put into relief serious problems that the state-backed Riken research institute is beset with. The education ministry is not free of responsibility either, for it helped to create the research environment that contributed to spawning the scandal, which has damaged the reputation of Japan's scientific research community.
At the very least, the people concerned, including Riken chief Ryoji Noyori and other institute officials, should determine what went wrong with STAP cell research and come up with concrete rectification measures.
Developments following the alleged discovery of STAP cells show that not only the researchers involved but also Riken and the education ministry got the basics wrong.
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