TOKYO, Jan. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Investigators at the University of Tokyo said in a report released on Friday that a series of 12 scientific experiments on human enzymes conducted by one of its academic teams has not been reproduced so far.

    The conclusion, which consumed nine months of investigations, indicated that Kazunari Taira, 53, a biochemistry engineering professor from the Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology at the university's Graduate School of Engineering, fabricated scientific papers on the research.

    Taira rejected the outcome of the investigations, claiming that the report was the product of misunderstanding, Kyodo News reported.

    The University of Tokyo, which is regarded as the most prestigious academic institution in Japan, has already decided to close Taira's laboratory office and plans to convene a disciplinary committee to punish him.

    Taira published his papers on a series of human enzyme experiments in overseas scientific journals between 1998 and 2004, stating that his research team had succeeded in coaxing E. coli bacteria to produce a human enzyme called Dicer by implanting a Dicer gene into a plasmid.

    In April 2005, however, the RNA Society of Japan found that Taira's experiments could not be reproduced and urged the university to launch investigations. Enditem