NEWS NATURE|Vol 445|15 February 2007

Disputed inquiry clears bubble-fusion engineer

An inquiry has exonerated nuclear engineer several researchers worried that Taleyarkhan’s Rusi Taleyarkhan of misconduct with respect work may be fraudulent, and he wrote to Purdue to allegations made internally at Purdue Uni- about his concerns in June 2006. These include versity in West Lafayette, Indiana, officials the apparent duplication of data between announced last week. But the announcement reports of supposedly independent experi- may raise more questions than it answers: ments4 (first raised by Nature), and a report5 researchers in the field have criticized the uni- that the spectrum of neutrons that Taleyarkhan versity for failing to say whether the inquiry claims to have detected from bubble fusion considered their concerns that the work may exactly matches that of a standard radioactive be fraudulent. source called californium. Taleyarkhan has Taleyarkhan claims to be able to produce since replied that when he measures neutrons fusion by collapsing bubbles in deuterated emitted by californium in his lab, he finds some- liquids. His work promised to improve pros- thing quite unlike what he sees from his fusion pects for developing a clean source of energy, experiments6. But a recent preprint points out but independent scientists have not been able that Taleyarkhan omitted some of the original to replicate the result. The work had been sub- spectral data in his reply, and that the full data ject to several internal allegations of miscon- set still looks like californium7. duct, including the fact that Taleyarkhan cited The university never responded to Suslick’s a paper by his student and postdoc as “inde- concerns. Peter Dunn, Purdue’s associate vice- pendent” confirmation of his findings1,2. president for research, told Nature that he Purdue announced on 7 February that “the believes the university followed its procedures. committee determined that the evidence does He declined to comment on why he never not support the allegations of research miscon- replied to Suslick, or on whether evidence duct and that no further investigation of the related to Suslick’s concerns was forwarded allegations is warranted”. It has refused to spec- to either inquiry. Purdue hasn’t revealed the ify the content of the allegations that it consid- identities of the members of the second inquiry Rusi Taleyarkhan’s controversial bubble-fusion ered, except to say that they were “internal”. panel, but Dale Compton, a professor of indus- findings have been upheld by his university. Institutional proceedings involving Taleyar- trial engineering at Purdue and a member of khan began in March 2006, after concerns the first panel, says he has no recollection of extremely thorough review and with my full about his work were reported by Nature3. being asked to consider the questions about cooperation,” he told Nature. “Allegations made Purdue’s provost, Sally Mason, Taleyarkhan’s data. in the press have been known to Purdue, and the responded by saying that the “Purdue’s finding is as Lefteri Tsoukalas, who asked administration’s thoughtful conclusions have university would undertake mysterious as bubble Purdue to investigate Taleyar- been well-articulated in their statements.” an objective review. In June khan in February 2006, has Beyond the issue of misconduct, Purdue 2006, the university said that fusion itself.” called the announcement “an also makes clear that it endorses the scientific the review was complete, but outrage”. Tsoukalas was head value of Taleyarkhan’s work. In last week’s press declined to make its findings public. Last week’s of Purdue’s nuclear-engineering school until release, vice-president for university relations announcement referred to the findings of a sec- he resigned in October 2006 in protest at the Joe Bennett stated: “Professor Taleyarkhan ond internal inquiry subsequently appointed by way the university was handling the concerns. is engaged in very promising, significant Purdue’s dean of engineering, Leah Jamieson. He notes that the usual procedure for handling research, and we hope he will now be able to Taleyarkhan has told several news outlets that allegations of scientific misconduct is to hold a give his full attention to this important work.” he feels “vindicated”. But critics have questioned preliminary inquiry, then either proceed with Seth Putterman of the University of Cali- the validity of Purdue’s proceedings, and in par- an investigation or close the matter. That did fornia, Los Angeles, who has also been trying ticular, the apparent decision to limit its inquiry not happen in this case; instead, the university to replicate bubble fusion, thinks that Tale- to internal allegations, yet possibly ignoring the ran a second preliminary inquiry. Apart from yarkhan’s work is invalid. “Purdue’s defence of concerns, including fraud, communicated by Tsoukalas, calls by Nature have failed to locate Taleyarkhan’s approach to scientific research external researchers in the field. anyone who raised concerns about Taleyar- taints their reputation,” he says. “If Purdue were “They apparently narrowly focused the khan’s work who was interviewed during either interested in maintaining their credibility they charge and avoided the question of whether inquiry. “Purdue’s finding is as mysterious as should have appointed external members to the research was doctored,” says Ken Suslick, a bubble fusion itself,” says Tsoukalas. their panel.” Mason, who is ultimately respon- chemist at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Taleyarkhan, however, strongly defends the sible for academic affairs at Purdue, did not Champaign who has been attempting to rep- university’s process. “Purdue University in respond to Nature’s requests for comment. licate Taleyarkhan’s claims. Suslick is one of my opinion and experience has conducted an Purdue’s announcement appeared on the

690 NATURE|Vol 445|15 February 2007 NEWS

BUBBLE FUSION Find Nature’s March 2006 investigation into bubble fusion online. www.nature.com/news/ bubblefusion Key biology databases go wiki

Barend Mons’s first objective colleagues are allowing anyone comparing a large number of would be ambitious enough to edit the entries, modifying papers and other data. for most people: to meld and adding text and links as “Mons is a visionary,” says some of the most important new work is published. Amos Bairoch at the Swiss biomedical databases into a That’s an attractive Institute of Bioinformatics single information resource. proposition, say database in Geneva, a collaborator on But that’s just the beginning. administrators. Michael the project and the creator Mons, a bioinformatician at Ashburner, a geneticist at of Swiss-Prot. “This will be a the Erasmus Medical Centre in the University of Cambridge, revolution.” Rotterdam, the Netherlands, UK, helps run FlyBase, a Yet realizing the vision will also wants to apply the collection of gene data on the be difficult. Top of the list of Wikipedia philosophy. He’s model organism Drosophila challenges is persuading the inviting the whole research melanogaster. The database community to get involved. community to help update a receives around US$4 million Adding one’s own data is likely vast store of interlinked data. If a year from the US National to be the biggest motivator he and his colleagues can pull Institutes of Health and — Bairoch and Ashburner it off — and even the project’s employs up to five full-time say they get several calls advocates are not sure they curators, but still can’t keep a week asking for updates can — they could transform up with the relevant literature, to databases, usually from the databases that are central says Ashburner, researchers who to the work of many life who is working “This will be a want their own scientists. with Mons on papers added. A test version of the project, the new project. revolution.” Whether this will provisionally dubbed Wiki “We have a list of be enough to keep for Professionals (www. around 12 journals that we try the database fresh remains to wikiprofessional.info), is due to cover. Even that’s tough.” be seen, given that employers to launch in the next month. Anyone motivated to and funders tend not to value It already contains data from register can curate Wiki for updating information highly.

L. FREENY/US DEPT ENERGY L. FREENY/US key sources, such as protein Professionals. Visitors to the Wiki for Professionals same day as Suslick, Putterman and others information from Swiss- dystrophin entry, for example, will also have to ensure that reported their attempt to replicate Taleyar- Prot and gene descriptions can update almost any of the additions don’t just reflect khan’s claims in an experiment built to his from Gene Ontology. Over information on the page, such individual researchers’ specifications8. They did not find any evi- the past year, Mons’s team as statements about the role pet theories. Mons hopes dence that fusion was occurring. has woven together these of the protein in disease. Users scientists will adopt entries Suslick, Putterman and Taleyarkhan had and other archives to create can also start new pages, and relevant to their work and use received funding from the US Department what, from a user’s point of from later this year will be automated systems to alert of Defense’s Advanced Research Projects view, seems to be a single given the option of creating them to changes, which they Agency (DARPA) for a project to test Taleyar- database. The page on the pages for themselves, with can then amend if necessary. khan’s original claims. Taleyarkhan has spent muscular-dystrophy protein links to relevant publications. The original data in Swiss-Prot around US$200,000 of this money on his dystrophin, for example, A final function, and the one and other databases will also bubble-fusion experiments. A spokeswoman contains data from Swiss-Prot that most excites Mons, is be protected. for DARPA, Jan Walker, told Nature that together with links to disease the availability of text-mining The resource has been set although Purdue has not formally notified information from the US software. This will allow up by Knewco, a scientific the agency of the inquiry or its results: “We National Library of Medicine, users to probe links between computing company based are aware that an inquiry has taken place and as well as explanatory text. proteins, genes and disease in Rockville, Maryland, and are currently reviewing what, if any, action is Links to relevant publications that may be revealed only by co-founded by Mons. The firm required on our part.” ■ in PubMed are also available. raised around $2 million in Eugenie Samuel Reich Existing databases interlink private funding to pay for the 1. Xu, Y. & Butt, A. Nucl. Eng. Des. 235, 1317–1324 (2005). to an extent, although initial effort, and says basic 2. Taleyarkhan, R. P. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 034301 the new resource is more access will be free. Revenue

(2006) . comprehensive. But the next will be generated by charging A. PASIEKA/SPL 3. Reich, E. S. Nature doi:10.1038/news060306-1 (2006). stage is the really radical bit. drug firms and other users for 4. Reich, E. S. Nature 444, 664–665 (2006). 5. Naranjo, B. Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 149403 (2006). Biomedical research produces premium services, such as the 6. Taleyarkhan, R. P. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 97, 149404 hundreds of thousands of option to run a private version (2006). papers a year, overwhelming of the system incorporating 7. Naranjo, B. Preprint at http://arXiv.org/ physics/0702009 (2007). database curators. To clear Protein databases could be proprietary data. ■ 8. Camara, C. G. et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 064301 (2007). this bottleneck, Mons and his transformed by extra features. Jim Giles

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