Rising Japanese scientist faked heralded stem cell research, lab says

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It was hailed as groundbreaking stem cell research at the time. But now the female Japanese scientist has been found guilty of falsifying data.

In her short scientific career, the trajectory of Haruko Obokata was meteoric. Before the 30-year-old was 20, she was accepted into the science department at Tokyo's Waseda University where the admittance board placed great importance on a candidate's aspirations.

Then she studied at Harvard University in what was supposed to be a half-year program, but advisers were so impressed with her research, they asked her stay longer.

It was there that she would come up with an idea that would come to define her in ways good and bad. The research was called STAP "stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency" which unveiled a new way to grow tissue. "I think about my research all day long, including when I am taking a bath and when I am on a date with my boyfriend," Obokata told theAsahi Shimbun.

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Rising Japanese scientist faked heralded stem cell research, lab says