A scientific paper, which was aimed at depicting the signalling pathway of sperm stem cells of a rodent, became a subject of widespread ridicule for depicting the wrong image and information of anatomically eye-watering appendage as well as four giant testicles.
In the image used in the research, the creature was labelled as a “rat” and it appeared sitting upright like a squirrel. The graphic was also filled with nonsensical words like “senctolic”, “testtomcels” and “dissilced”.
In the cut-away image, “sterrn cells” were shown in a Petri dish which was picked up with a spoon.
The research was published in the journal Frontiers in Cell and Development Biology, along with other absurd graphics, which were created using the AI tool Midjourney.
The graphics included a multicoloured JAK-STAT signalling pathway diagram which some of the experts said appeared like “some crazy level of Candy Crush” and was not grounded in “any known biology”.
The paper, which was written by the Honghui Hospital’s researchers in China, had to be retracted by the journal as it issued an apology and stated that it was working to “correct the record”.
Scientists battle fake research
A number of scientists have expressed concern over how the research is being published and have warned about how AI is ushering in a dangerous era of fake research.
Professor of pathology at Cambridge University and editor of the journal Immunology & Cell Biology Adrian Liston said, “Generative AI is very good at making things that sound like they come from a human being. It doesn’t check whether those things are correct.”
“It is like an actor playing a doctor on a TV show – they look like a doctor, they sound like a doctor, they even use words that a doctor would use. But you wouldn’t want to get medical advice from the actor.”
Watch: Are you a Rat Snacker? Know more about the new food trend
“The JAK figure is even worse than the rat figure, in my opinion. There are simply meaningless connections and lines that don’t associate with any known biology,” he added, as reported by The Telegraph.
“The problem for real journals is getting harder, because generative AI makes it easier for cheats,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
