Weekend reads: Retracted COVID-19 papers keep being cited; “‘difficult’ name penalty”; economist accused of plagiarism

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: The Lancet more than doubles its impact factor, eclipsing NEJM for the first time ever Author demands a refund after his paper is retracted for plagiarism Seven months after an author request, journal retracts February: … Continue reading Weekend reads: Retracted COVID-19 papers keep being cited; “‘difficult’ name penalty”; economist accused of plagiarism

Hand surgeon in South Korea loses seven papers for “serious misconduct”

A surgery journal has retracted seven papers by a group in South Korea after an institutional investigation found evidence of “intentional, repetitive, and serious misconduct” in the work.  The articles, by a team at Ewha Womans University and Seoul National University College of Medicine, appeared in the Journal of Hand Surgery (European Volume) between 2016 … Continue reading Hand surgeon in South Korea loses seven papers for “serious misconduct”

“[H]ow gullible reviewers and editors…can be”: An excerpt from Science Fictions

We’re pleased to present an excerpt from Stuart Ritchie’s new book, Science Fictions: How Fraud, Bias, Negligence, and Hype Undermine the Search for Truth. One of the best-known, and most absurd, scientific fraud cases of the twentieth century also concerned transplants – in this case, skin grafts. While working at the prestigious Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute … Continue reading “[H]ow gullible reviewers and editors…can be”: An excerpt from Science Fictions

Weekend reads: Stolen identity and peer review; key heart data concealed; psychology’s ‘collective self-deception’

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: The retraction of a paper claiming a link between the … Continue reading Weekend reads: Stolen identity and peer review; key heart data concealed; psychology’s ‘collective self-deception’

Nature journal retracts controversial CRISPR paper after authors admit results may be wrong

Nature Methods has retracted a 2017 paper suggesting a common gene editing technique may cause widespread collateral damage to the genome. The notice has a long backstory: After the paper was published, it immediately drew an outcry from critics (including representatives from companies who sell the tool, whose stock fell after publication). Some critics argued … Continue reading Nature journal retracts controversial CRISPR paper after authors admit results may be wrong

Journal bans author for three years after retracting paper with “serious ethical” problems

An anatomy journal has banned a researcher from submitting papers for three years after determining one of his recently published papers suffered from “serious ethical” issues. According to Jae Seung Kang, associate editor at the journal Anatomy and Cell Biology (ACB), the paper’s sole author—Jae Chul Lee—falsified both his affiliation and approval for conducting animal … Continue reading Journal bans author for three years after retracting paper with “serious ethical” problems

Five retractions for engineering duo in South Korea over duplication, fraudulent data

An engineering student in South Korea and a professor have retracted five papers from four different journals for reasons ranging from figure duplication to manipulated or fraudulent data. Jae Hyo Park, who is pursuing his PhD, and Seung Ki Joo, a professor in the department of material science and engineering at Seoul National University in South … Continue reading Five retractions for engineering duo in South Korea over duplication, fraudulent data

Crow’s feet filler study omitted pharma funding, gets retracted

A paper on a filler for eye wrinkles did not disclose that it was funded by a pharmaceutical company that produces the cosmetic. The paper explicitly noted that the authors do not have any financial conflicts of interest, and that a government program supported the study. According to the journal, a reader alerted them to the … Continue reading Crow’s feet filler study omitted pharma funding, gets retracted

Weekend reads: Why authors keep citing retracted studies; patients over papers; final ruling in Hwang case

Here’s our first post of 2016. The week at Retraction Watch featured a retraction from JAMA, and our list of most-cited retracted papers. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Structure error sinks NIH-MIT-SNU peptide paper

A mistake in structure identification has sunk a paper by researchers at the NIH, MIT, and Seoul National University in the Cell Press journal Chemistry and Biology. Here’s the notice for “Peptide-Based Inhibitors of Plk1 Polo-box Domain Containing Mono-anionic Phosphothreonine Esters and Their Pivaloyloxymethyl Prodrugs”: