It seemed like a story destined to end with a Nobel Prize. Haruko Obokata, a young Japanese scientist, presented a groundbreaking study on stem cells that promised to revolutionize medicine. Her peers were thrilled, the media hailed her as a rising star, and even Japan’s Prime Minister joined the chorus of praise. But when the house of cards collapsed and the massive fraud was exposed, Obokata was exiled from the world of science — yet even that paled in comparison to the terrible price paid by the mentor who supported her.