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Baker's Book Uncovers Falsified Alzheimer Data, Stanford Criticized

5/19/2026

Summary

Story summary

Theo Baker’s book *How to Rule the World* reveals data in Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s 2009 *Nature* Alzheimer’s paper, prompting his resignation.
Four Genentech senior executives, under NDAs, confirmed an internal review found the data falsified.
Baker chased Tessier-Lavigne’s car with burner phones and aliases to secure film rights.
Stanford removed the investigation report, took no action against convicted geneticist Stan Cohen, and reflected the book’s claim that its culture enables fraud.

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Story summary

Theo Baker’s book *How to Rule the World* reveals data in Marc Tessier-Lavigne’s 2009 *Nature* Alzheimer’s paper, prompting his resignation.
Four Genentech senior executives, under NDAs, confirmed an internal review found the data falsified.
Baker chased Tessier-Lavigne’s car with burner phones and aliases to secure film rights.
Stanford removed the investigation report, took no action against convicted geneticist Stan Cohen, and reflected the book’s claim that its culture enables fraud.