The Japanese researcher at the heart of a stem cell scandal is defending her research.

Haruko Obokata said through a lawyer today the mice she used in her experiments came from her laboratory.

Her coauthor said earlier this week the mice differed genetically from the strains he provided.

Obokata thrilled the scientific world in January with the discovery of a groundbreaking new way to generate stem cells for use in regenerative medicine.

But she later retracted her papers published in Nature amid allegations she doctored her research.

Obokata said she still hopes to replicate her experiment to verify her new method for creating stem cells.