Brocken Inaglory/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
A molecular ecology researcher has lost two papers and received an expression of concern for a third after coauthors flagged data issues with the papers.
All three papers appeared in Molecular Ecology Resources and describe the use of DNA methylation as an epigenetic clock to predict the age of different animals. The journal retracted two of the studies in July. The first, published in June 2021, estimated ages for three threatened fish species. The second appeared in April 2022 and proposes a clock for predicting the age of sea turtles. The articles have been cited 41 and 32 times, respectively, according to Clarivate’s Web of Science.
The lead author on those two studies was Benjamin Mayne, formerly a researcher at Australia’s national science agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), based in Canberra.
Ben Creagh, an executive manager at CSIRO, told us Mayne is no longer with the organization. CSIRO “is aware of potential issues relating to certain epigenetic aging technologies and is undertaking further inquiries into this matter,” Creagh added.
According to both retraction notices, coauthor Simon Jarman, a researcher at Curtin University in Perth, alerted the journal to results in a figure which “are inaccurate and do not represent a real relationship between age and DNA methylation.” Mayne agreed to both retractions, the notices say.
A third paper in Molecular Ecology Resources with Mayne as a coauthor received an expression of concern on October 16. The July 2024 study, which has been cited three times, describes a technique for estimating the age of seabirds.
The notice says lead author Lauren Roman raised concerns “regarding potential inaccuracies in the data presented in the article” which “suggest the study may not be reproducible.” Roman is an affiliate of CSIRO and is a fellow at the University of Tasmania in Hobart. She acknowledged our email but declined to comment further.
The notice also says the “institution is currently investigating the matter,” but Wiley, which publishes the journal, did not confirm which institution the notice refers to.
Creagh of CSIRO did not confirm whether the “further inquiries” included the expression of concern.
In July 2024 on LinkedIn and X, the South Australian Genomics Centre in Adelaide announced Mayne as the senior genomics research coordinator at its Flinders University center. Sen Wang, a manager at the center, told us Mayne left his position in January of this year. We have not been able to confirm his current affiliation. An email we sent to Mayne’s CSIRO email address bounced back.
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Hats off the co-authors for standing up for the integrity of their work. But what a shame, especially for Lauren Roman, putting in all the work as a lead author seeing a paper through, only to find your trusted colleague and collaborator sabotaged with bogus data. Reminiscent of Jonathan Pruitt. Hopefully they can purge the Mayne influence and republish.