Zee Media Bureau
Tokyo: Japanese scientist Yoshiki Sasai, an expert on embryonic stem cells, who was embroiled in a recent stem-cell research controversy, committed suicide on Tuesday.
The research by Sasai which claims that stem cells can be made by dripping blood cells into acid, appeared in the famous journal `Nature` in January.
But it was soon challenged and accusations of plagiarism and fabrication were made on Sasai as he co-authored the research papers. Though the research papers were retracted in July, the reputation of the Riken Institute where he worked was compromised. The embarrassment and regret of not being able to rectify the errors before hand drove him to death.
Sasai was found hanging from a rope by a security guard at Riken. He had experienced a cardiac arrest and was declared dead after two hours of hospitalisation.
With Agency Inputs
