Elsevier journal Chemosphere may finally retract a paper it learned contained fabricated data in January when a member of the author’s institution requested the paper be retracted.
The paper has been cited at least once since the lies came to light, as we reported earlier this month.
The journal contacted the relevant parties on October 29 with the following email about “Degradation of 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN) by metabolic cooperative activity of Pseudomonas sp. strain FK357andRhodococcus imtechensis strain RKJ300,” although no notice has been posted:
I’d like to let you know that this paper has now been retracted and apologize for the delay. We were obliged to officially share the retraction notice with all authors to ensure they were aware of the retraction.
The paper was one of seven by the same group that were based on fabricated data. Another Elsevier journal, the Journal of Hazardous Materials, still hasn’t retracted the paper it promised to in July.
I am surprised to see zero comments about a core issue, accountability (or the lack thereof), in the world’s largest science publisher. I believe that Elsevier is going to see its house of cards fall in a dramatic plunge if this kicking-the-can-down-the-road attitude continues. It has made financial and reputational gains for decades (maybe even centuries) based on the academic feats of scientists, but has not assumed an equivalent level of responsibility towards correcting errors in the literature – and based on those “feats” – that it holds on its data-bases. Time and time again I have contacted Elsevier-published (or hosted) journals about problems and errors in the journals, and time and time again, nothing is done about it. The problem lies with the editors and with Elsevier, who appears to protect their inaction. Is it time for a second, more fundamentally based boycott against Elsevier? Why are there not more voices of discontent or disapproval? It appears that this is the only way to hold this corporation (i.e., Reed-Elsevier) accountable for the academically-corrupted content it touts as being “academic”. Should copyright of such content be forfeited if no action is taken?