A now-seminal study published in 2006 provided evidence that the toxic accumulation of a protein called beta-amyloid in the brain was tied to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Recently, an assistant professor from Vanderbilt University suggested that some of the images in this study were manipulated by the authors. What does all of this mean? In 2006, a group of researchers from the University of Minnesota published a dementia-related study titled in the journal NatureTrusted Source called “A specific amyloid-β [beta-amyloid] protein assembly in the brain impairs memory.” The study provides evidence supporting a specific protein clump in the brain, known as beta-amyloidTrusted Source, as a cause for Alzheimer’s disease. The study used a mouse model to show how these protein clumps — also known as amyloid plaquesTrusted Source — could cause dementia. Because of its findings, this study became very influential in Alzheimer’s disease research. To date, it has been cited in over 2,200 scientific papersTrusted Source and accessed more than 34,000 times. Now an article recently published in Science reports that an assistant professor of neurology at Vanderbilt University believes some of the images were manipulated in the 2006 Nature study, calling into question the validity of its findings.

What is image manipulation in peer-reviewed articles? Image manipulationTrusted Source is the process of changing a photograph. According to Dr. Elisabeth Bik, microbiome and science integrity consultant at Harbers-Bik LLC, photographic images can be easily digitally altered, for example, when we remove wrinkles or a mole from someone’s face in a photographic portrait.