Researcher at Japan's Kyoto University falsifies data for iPS paper

TOKYO, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kyoto University, one of the top universities in Japan, said Monday that a researcher at its iPS institute falsified key data in a paper published on a scientific journal last year.

Kohei Yamamizu, assistant professor at the university, falsified all major figures in a paper on iPS published on scientific journal Stem Cell Reports last year, according to Kyoto University.

Yamamizu claimed in the paper that he had succeeded in producing brain tissue using iPS cells.

Nobel Prize laureate Shinya Yamanaka, who headed the university's iPS center, told a press conference that the paper's conclusion was affected by the falsification as the questionable figures served as "the foundation of the paper."

He apologized for not being able to prevent the falsification, saying that he will take necessary measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.

The university said it has asked the journal's publisher to retract the paper and will punish those involved in the data falsification. Enditem