Further investigation conducted by the Journal and Publisher confirmed unusual similarities present in the image panels representative of different treatment conditions in the following Figures: 6E, and8A.When approached for an explanation, the authors responded.The authors explained that the overlapping areas resulted from the limitations of the camera coupled to the microscope available at the time the study was conducted, and that the images were processed with the purpose of minimising minor visual imperfections.
Luna et al. (Fri,) studied this question.