What motivates scientists to fabricate results in prestigious journal articles? As is well known, Dr. Obokata was accused and fired for fabricating her paper on STAP cells.

Report on STAP Cell Research Paper Investigation
http://www3.riken.jp/stap/e/c13document52.pdf

I wonder what her motivation was if that is the case.
If STAP cells do not exist, sooner or later her paper will be recognized as invalid by the science community.
However, someone said your scientific paper's being accepted by a prestigious journal would be prestigious enough if it would not be found as a fabrication.
Only if you're either really (really) stupid or desperate, or naive enough to think that you'll never be found out.

The person in question here seems to have been a serial offender. And I'd be very surprised if anyone who offends so blatantly has no previous history. Fraudsters always start out small and relatively inconspicuous, but confidence and brashness grows until they're caught.

Yes, fraudsters seem attracted by the prospect of fame – but I can't grok why you'd submit a fraudulent paper to Nature. Seriously!? Of course you'll be found out! But no, it's not worth it. Ever.