The author of a 2016 paper describing a potentially invaluable lab tool has retracted it, following heavy criticism from outside groups that could not reproduce the findings.
The paper had already been tagged with an Expression of Concern by the journal, Nature Biotechnology, which included data from multiple groups casting doubt on the original findings. Although the authors, led by Chunyu Han at Hebei University of Science and Technology in China, produced data to support their original findings, the journal has concluded — following “feedback from expert reviewers” — that the additional data “are insufficient to counter the substantial body of evidence that contradicts their initial findings,” according to an editorial released today:
We are now convinced that Han’s decision to retract the paper is the best course of action to support the integrity of the published record.
Here’s a link to the retraction notice, along with a thoughtful editorial explaining the journal’s decision-making.
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“DNA-guided genome editing using the Natronobacterium gregoryi Argonaute” received much attention — and criticism — soon after it was published in May 2016. The paper described a gene-editing technique, known as NgAgo, which initial data suggested might work better than its widely used counterpart, CRISPR/Cas9.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: “The data have spoken:” Controversial NgAgo gene editing study retracted
