Reactome Array Paper May Be Withdrawn

An ethics panel of the Spanish Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) has recommended that the journal Science withdraw a paper on which one of its own researchers, Manuel Ferrer, was the lead author. Ferrer's paper describes a reactome array, a sensitive metabolite array for obtaining detailed quantitative profiles of a cell's metabolic networks (Science 2009, 326, 252).

When the paper was published last year, it generated significant controversy because of the chemistry it described (C&EN, Jan. 11, page 7). One of the first people to call attention to the paper's shortcomings was University of Wisconsin, Madison Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry Laura L. Kiessling, who is also the editor of ACS Chemical Biology. She characterized the paper's chemistry as "unlikely," while other experts raised the possibility that its data were fraudulent. Ferrer posted additional data on the reactome array on the CSIC website in an attempt to clarify his work, but that has apparently not quelled critics' concerns.

Multiple requests from C&EN for a copy of the ethics panel's report have been refused. Similarly, Ferrer has not responded to requests for comment. Science has confirmed receipt of the CSIC report and notes that they have given Ferrer the option to retract the paper in advance of reports from other groups trying to validate his findings. At C&EN's deadline, it was unknown whether Ferrer has made any further decisions about the paper.