Scandal-hit research scientist commits suicide in research centre
A renowned Japanese stem-cell scientist who co-wrote research that was later retracted in an embarrassing scandal has been found dead in an apparent suicide, police said.
A renowned Japanese stem-cell scientist who co-wrote research that was later retracted in an embarrassing scandal has been found dead in an apparent suicide, police said yesterday.
The body of Yoshiki Sasai, 52, was discovered hanging inside the stairwell of a building that houses the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology, one of the country's most prestigious scientific research institutions, in the western city of Kobe.
"Yoshiki Sasai was discovered hanging on Tuesday morning inside one of Riken's research buildings and, after being sent to hospital, he was confirmed dead at 11.03am," a spokesman for the Hyogo Prefectural police said.
"Police are investigating the case as a suspected suicide."
A Riken spokesman later confirmed Sasai's death was suicide, saying: "We were aware that [Sasai] had been mentally and physically exhausted."
He added that authorities discovered "farewell notes", and public broadcaster NHK reported that one was left for researcher Haruko Obokata.
Sasai mentored Obokata, 30, who unveiled a study earlier this year that was hailed as a "game-changer" in the quest to grow transplant tissue in the lab. But the feted research unravelled amid claims Obokata used fabricated data in her research.