A stem cell-scientist in Japan was found dead in his laboratory in an apparent suicide.

Police said Prof. Yoshiki Sasai, 52, committed suicide by hanging himself at the laboratory where he works.

The scientist was found by a security guard Tuesday morning at a biomedical research institution adjacent to the Riken Center in Kobe, western Japan.

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Sasai was deputy director of the Riken Center for Developmental Biology. He co-authored two research studies about creating stem cells by subjecting ordinary cells to a mild acid solution for 30 minutes.

The two papers were published in the scientific journal "Nature" in January but were met with criticism when other scientists failed to replicate the result.

The result of Sasai's research could havemade stem-cell technology more affordable and much faster.

Sasai's research was challenged by other scientists with some claiming it was a scientific fraud.

In an interview in April, Sasai said he believed the research was a scientific breakthrough, but should be retracted after the controversies and criticisms it received.

In light of the research problems, Riken asked Dr. Haruko Obotaka, Sasai's co-author, to conduct an experiment to verify the existence of the stem cells.

Another group of scientists will also perform experiments to corroborate Sasai's findings.

The research was investigated by Riken, and when findings proved inconclusive, Nature retracted the articles in July.

Sasai was cleared of any direct misconduct in the research but his co-author Dr. Haruko Obotaka, was found guilty.

Riken president and Nobel Laureate Ryoji Noyori said he was "shocked" by the news of Sasai's death and feels sorry for the loss of an "invaluable researcher to the global scientific community."  

Tagsstem cell, Science