Breaking: Nature has issued an Expression of Concern regarding a 1999 paper. The article, "En passant neurotrophic action of an intermediate axonal target in the developing mammalian CNS," faces scrutiny. Concerns center on image irregularities within Figure 5.
The journal's editors flagged unexpectedly similar backgrounds in panels 5a and 5b. These panels allegedly depict the same tissue explant at different time points. Authors claim the original data is unavailable due to the article's age.
Nature advises caution when interpreting the paper's results. The Expression of Concern serves as a public alert to potential issues. This impacts the scientific community's understanding of axonal development.
The 1999 study explored how axons navigate during nervous system development. It investigated the role of intermediate targets in guiding axonal growth. Such research is crucial for understanding neurological disorders.
Further investigation is unlikely given the data constraints. Readers are urged to consider the editors' concerns when referencing this work. The scientific community relies on data integrity for progress.
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