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According to the Government's report, they did not look hard enough. In October, when the results from all five centers involved in the N.H.L.B.I, study were released, it was clear that the Harvard data were inconsistent with the rest. Only then did Braunwald and Kloner inform NIH officials about the incident in May. Investigations into Darsee's work were formally initiated by both Dean Tosteson and the NIH. Meanwhile, Braunwald and Kloner redoubled their efforts to unmask the fraud. Said Braunwald last week: "We began to think like Sherlock Holmes."
The medical detectives found a number of abuses. Darsee had recorded data from tests on dogs that required the injection of radioactive substances and the excision of the animals' hearts. Yet Braunwald and Kloner discovered from tissue samples that the animals had never been injected, and at least one of the dogs had been buried with its heart intact. The NIH found that all measurements made by Darsee were so perfectly consistent and neat that they "lack credibility."
While NIH officials recognized that "no system of procedures and controls can offer absolute protection against willful deceit," they criticized Kloner and Braunwald for not paying close enough attention to researchers under their supervision. Though Braunwald strongly denied the charge, the report maintained that "a hurried pace and emphasis on productivity, coupled with limited interaction with senior scientists, have contributed to the disappointing events."
In recent years there has been a growing number of such "disappointing events" in laboratories around the country. Yale, Cornell and Boston University have each had to contend with embarrassing cases of scientific fraud. According to a number of scientists, the tremendous pressures to "publish or perish" may be a factor in the trend. These pressures have been exacerbated by the intense competition for limited federal research funds. "Science is more expensive these days," says Albert H. Hastorf, Stanford's provost. "You need a big grant or you are out of business." Many leading research institutions have attempted to deal with the problem by tightening up procedures for handling cases of suspected fakery.
As for Darsee, he maintains that he has "no recollection" of committing the abuses. Last week, however, he issued a statement "asking forgiveness for whatever I have done wrong" and asserting, "I want to continue to contribute to the medical system." He is currently in the first year of a two-year fellowship in critical-care medicine at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady, N. Y. He does no research. According to Hospital Spokeswoman Pat Mattice, Darsee had been "completely honest" in describing his past, and "we feel he has a lot to offer." —By Claudia Wallis. Reported by Renie Schapiro/Washington and Sue Wymelenberg/Boston