A flow chart of the open peer review process
The peer review process is important as it allows the scientific community to review new research to see if it is valid before it is published to the world to see. If the review process is not completed properly it can lead to the paper being withdrawn which can cause further issues for the publishing scientists and the scientific community.
This happened in the case of the 'STAP' cell phenomenon;
Papers published in early 2014 in 'Nature' suggested that any adult human cell can become any other cell if it was dipped in an acid bath for 30 minutes. The results were published by Obakata working from RIKEN, a large research institute in Japan. However, other teams across the world couldn't replicate the results published. The papers were shown to have many flaws in them with manipulated images showing the 'proof'. Obakata was soon found guilty of scientific misconduct, a result of not using the peer review process properly. The papers were withdrawn in July 2014.
This happened in the case of the 'STAP' cell phenomenon;
Papers published in early 2014 in 'Nature' suggested that any adult human cell can become any other cell if it was dipped in an acid bath for 30 minutes. The results were published by Obakata working from RIKEN, a large research institute in Japan. However, other teams across the world couldn't replicate the results published. The papers were shown to have many flaws in them with manipulated images showing the 'proof'. Obakata was soon found guilty of scientific misconduct, a result of not using the peer review process properly. The papers were withdrawn in July 2014.