The withdrawal after 22 years of a controversial stem cell paper highlights how perverse incentives can distort scientific progress
Trays of brain cells derived from bone marrow cells in the lab of Dr. Catherine Verfaillie at the University of Minnesota on November 10, 2000.by Catherine Verfaillie, then at the University of Minnesota, and her colleagues, had been cited 4,482 times by its demise according to, offering the same potential to develop into any type of tissue but without the need to destroy an early-stage human embryo. At that time the U.S.
When such papers start falling apart, they are often vigorously defended. Research institutions and journals sometimes drag their feet in correcting the scientific record. This may partly be driven by legal caution; nobody relishes a libel lawsuit from a prominent researcher who objects to a retraction. The reputations of scientists’ employers and journals also suffer when papers are withdrawn, creating an incentive to let things stand.
I understand why universities and journals are reluctant or slow to take corrective action. But the saga of Verfaillie’spaper reveals a deeper problem with perverse incentives that drive “successful” careers in science. A highly cited paper like this is a gateway to promotions and generous grants. That can starve funding to more promising research.
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