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Prof said that the experiment "proving" the existence of Okazaki fragments was never replicated.

Is this true? I tried looking on Google Scholar and I cannot find any experiments talking specifically about the existence of such fragments. Wikipedia also doesn't list any other researchers "finding" Okazaki fragments.

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  • $\begingroup$ You mean replicated in another lab? $\endgroup$
    – canadianer
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 20:18
  • $\begingroup$ Yes that's what I mean $\endgroup$
    – Dissenter
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 20:23
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    $\begingroup$ Are you sure your professor wasn't talking about the STAP cell retraction The first author on that paper was Obokata. $\endgroup$
    – AMR
    Commented Oct 9, 2015 at 1:48
  • $\begingroup$ It seems that many people have done experiments based on the results of Okazaki fragments and published positive data. This means they suggest existence of Okazaki fragments directly or indirectly. When you say an experiment is never replicated, you have to mentioned what actually they did. Because we never know if the articles mentioning Okazaki fragments show the exactly same experiment or take other experimental approach. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Okazaki+fragment%5Btitle%5D $\endgroup$
    – 243
    Commented Oct 10, 2015 at 1:25

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Formation of Okazaki fragments in polyoma DNA synthesis caused by misincorporation of uracil - Brynoff, et.al. Cell; Volume 13, Issue 3, p573–580, March 1978 one of many, but you only need one to disprove your professor.

You do not always need to replicate the exact same assays in order to validate a model. Replicate means reproduce the same experimental results in which to draw the same conclusion. Another person need not reproduce your work exactly, so long as your results were the results of experiments that you were able to reproduce on your own. Standards for Replication in Science

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  • $\begingroup$ In addition to the wealth of work done on Okazaki fragments, it's important to note that the original work in the 1960s showed how both lagging and leading strands of DNA can be replicated despite the 5' to 3' direction of DNA polymerase. Work starting with the identification of Okazaki fragments underlies much of what has been learned since about replication forks. That might be the best "replication" of all: forming the basis for decades of continued research. $\endgroup$
    – EdM
    Commented Oct 9, 2015 at 16:44

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