Cassava, the starchy root vegetable that serves as a dietary staple to millions of people around the world, has not gotten even better, as reported last January by Claude Fauquet of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and colleagues. The PLOS ONE study—which described a genetically modified cassava plant that expressed the zeolin gene for a nutritional protein—has been retracted, Retraction Watch reported.
“The authors have been unable to confirm the presence of the zeolin gene within the transgenic cassava plants in several subsequent studies,” the retraction notice read. “Additionally, the Committee on Research Integrity at Donald Danforth Plant Science Center has carried out an institutional investigation which revealed that significant amounts of data and supporting documentation that were claimed to be produced by the first author could not be found.”
The study, which has been cited five times, according to ISI, was part of a Gates Foundation-funded program aimed ...
