© Reuters/KyodoYoshiki Sasai, deputy director of the Riken's Center for Developmental Biology.
A Japanese scientist who believed he had helped create revolutionary advances in stem-cell research, which were later discredited, has committed suicide. Yoshiki Sasai, who thought he could replace damaged cells or grow human organs, hanged himself.
The 52-year-old, who was the deputy chief of the Riken Institute for Developmental Biology, had been suffering from stress and exhaustion for months, ever since holes began to appear in his research in March, Reuters reported. The material had initially been published in January in the British journal
Nature. He was found at the Riken Institute early on Tuesday in the city of Kobe.
A security guard found him suffering from a heart attack, with a rope around his neck, according to the Riken Institute. Sasai was rushed to hospital, but was pronounced dead two hours later, AP stated.
"It is very unfortunate that this happened," said the government's top spokesman, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga. "Mr. Sasai contributed greatly in the field of developmental biology and was an internationally renowned researcher."
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